


Kindergarten

by MilkTeaMiku



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 10:51:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 300
Words: 218,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8141194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilkTeaMiku/pseuds/MilkTeaMiku
Summary: Shiro works as a kindergarten teacher.





	1. Paint

Shiro, despite his rather intimidating appearance and the prominent scar across his nose, was quite popular with children. It puzzled him, along with most others he greeted upon their first meeting. He was tall and noticeably muscled, and had a high-functioning prosthetic arm, two physical features of which didn’t usually appeal to young children. 

“I bet it’s your shoulders,” Allura had said, when Shiro mentioned it, “they’re perfect for climbing.”

He’d laughed it off, but the children at Altea Kindergarten did quite enjoy using him and his broad shoulders as a climbing gym. From the first day he was hired by Allura – the owner’s daughter – he’d been a real hit among all the kids. They listened to him during lessons and he was their first choice of companion for play time. When it came to excursions or outings, they often squabbled over who got to hold his hands, and he had so many paintings and strange paddle-pop creations gifted to him that there was no more room for them on his desk or the surrounding walls. 

“I’m jealous,” Allura said, as she’d watched him try to find space for a new, glitter-covered painting. “The kids just love you.”

Shiro laughed, bashful. “Well, I’m glad they do,” he said. He glanced at his metal hand, and flexed it. The joints were remarkably silent and it moved just as realistically as a flesh hand, but he could feel the difference. “I hadn’t thought they would.”

“Come now,” Allura replied, grinning that charming grin of hers that said she knew exactly why Shiro was so flustered, “what’s not to adore?”

He laughed. “I’m sure they still think I’m part robot.”

For what it was worth, Shiro loved being around the children, too. He’d always been the leader type, always been capable of taking charge and making decisions. Somehow, he’d never expected to love being in the childcare industry as much as he actually did, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. Working with children was enlightening and always lifted his spirits, even if it could be a stressful and demanding job. After the accident from which he’d lost his arm, this job was a miracle. If he were being honest, he hadn’t thought he’d ever be able to find a job again, though realistically he knew it was quite possible – and it had been.

Like most respectable adults, Shiro didn’t play favourites with the kids, but there were some that flocked to him more insistently than others. Little Pidge, with all his tinkering toys, and Hunk, with a big smile and an orange band tied around his forehead, for example. Those two were rather sweet, and he enjoyed spending time with them a lot.

There were two others, as well. They were just as sweet in their own ways, except they were a bit more… _rambunctious._ Shiro would even say they were downright mischievous and argumentative, even for young children. Keith and Lance just loved to fight! He didn’t understand it at all, but those two got on like cats and dogs. They were both good kids, sure, but man could they be a real handful. 

Lance started it most of the time. He was very competitive, and quite forward. He liked to think that he and Keith were rivals, like they were out of some big blockbuster action movie. Everything he did, if it involved Keith, became a competition.

Keith was a pretty withdrawn kid, so Shiro hadn’t expected him to ever rise to Lance’s bait, but _oh how he did._ It was ridiculous. Somehow, when Lance was around, Keith could get just as fired up. 

Take that morning, for example. During the break between lessons, Shiro had set up the painting tables. Plastic containers full of paint, thin paper and thick-bristled brushes sat neatly on six small tables for the kids to play with, if they wanted to. Most sat down and shared the equipment without argument, and it started off as quite a pleasant experience. _Started off as_ being the operative words.

Pidge, Hunk, Keith and Lance all sat down around a table together. Hunk was painting something sweet and yellow, and it seemed like Pidge had gone straight into drawing schematics for some sort of machine, though it looked nothing like any schematics Shiro had ever seen. Keith took to painting like a fish took to land, but he tried. 

Lance wanted Keith’s paint. After watching Keith draw for a while, Lance abruptly huffed, and reached over to dip his brush into the red Keith had hoarded. Shiro didn’t think that Keith minded at all until he did the same and his brush came back tainted blue – from Lance’s. And then world war seven hundred and forty-two erupted.

“Now, now,” Shiro said, hovering around the table, “put the paintbrush down, Lance.”

“It’s Keif’s fault!” Lance complained, scowling furiously. He could get quite pouty for a four year old.

“You can’t even pronounce my name right!” Keith argued. “You messed up the paint.”

“You didn’t share it!”

“You didn’t ask!”

“I did so!”

“Did not!”

 _“Shiro!”_ They both shouted.

Shiro pressed a hand to the bridge of his nose. “You two really should try to get along a bit better,” he said. “Lance, I don’t believe you asked Keith to borrow his paint, so apologise. And Keith, you shouldn’t say mean things to your friend. Lance wait, what are you- _Lance!”_

A thick splatter of paint flew across the table and landed on Keith’s jacket. Keith let out a disgusted grunt, and immediately lobbed one back at Lance. 

“That’s enough,” Shiro said firmly, bending down to pull the paints out of Keith and Lance’s hands. He could see Pidge was getting a mischievous glint in his eyes, and if a paint war started then he’d never hear the end of it from Allura. She would remind him, for the hundredth time, that three paint wars was more than enough. To stop them from starting number four, he bent down and lifted Lance out of his seat. “Come on, let’s clean up. No more fighting.”

Lance squirmed for a moment, but didn’t put up much of an argument. Keith insistently reached for Shiro’s hand, only content when he was being given the same amount of attention as Lance.

Really, did everything have to be a competition?

“I secretly think they like each other,” Allura chuckled as she watched Shiro dab the paint out of Keith’s jacket. “They’re great friends, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro said, sighing. He’d put Keith and Lance in a corner and set them to organising the crayons and pencils back into their appropriate boxes. “They argue a lot.”

“A sign of a strong friendship!” Allura exclaimed. “Here, pass me Lance’s jacket, I’ll give you a hand.”

Shiro passed over the jacket. “I don’t know how to make them get along better,” he sighed. “I’m sure they could be great friends, but they’re just so competitive.”

Allura smiled a little. She had a very pretty smile, Shiro thought. One that could light up an entire room with only the smallest effort. “I think they’re fine,” she said, glancing over her shoulder once. “Whatever you’re doing, it’s working.”

He followed her gaze. Lance was bent over the back of Keith’s chair, his arm reached down to help Keith sort out the crayons faster. It seemed like he’d already completed his own pile, but he hadn’t left the table, even though he could of. 

Shiro smiled a little. It was nice to see them getting along, even if it was just when they thought no one was looking. “They’re good kids,” he said.

“You’ve said that before.”

“I’d say it again, too.”

Allura laughed, and held up Lance’s jacket. It was completely spotless, and after nodding to herself, she set it to dry on the drying rack. “Do you want me to do Keith’s as well?”

Shiro glanced down at his own work, and sighed. He couldn’t tell if he’d made the paint stains worse, but they certainly weren’t any better. Reluctantly, he handed it over. “Please.”

She took the jacket, and set to work on cleaning up the stain. “I’ll have to teach you how to clean paint stains properly one day,” she said teasingly. 

Shiro flushed. He always got stupidly flustered around Allura when she was relaxed and teasing like that. Usually she was quite responsible, and very focused on her job. He liked that side of her, of course, but this one was quite likeable, as well. 

When Allura was done, she handed Shiro the wet jacket and went on her way. Shiro was so distracted by the sway of her long hair and the warm smiles she gave the children that rushed to greet her than he didn’t notice Keith and Lance coming up behind him.

“Do you _like_ Miss Allura?” Keith asked.

“N-no, I do not,” Shiro answered, flustered, as he hung up the jacket. “Did you finish your job?”

“Don’t change the subject,” Lance said, giggling. “You like Miss Allura! Doesn’t he, K- _Keith?”_

Keith grinned. “Shiro likes Miss Allura!”

“Huh?” Hunk glanced up from across the room, and turned to Pidge, who was calmly continued his schematics. “Does Mr Shiro like Miss Allura, Pidge?”

“Of course he does,” Pidge said, without looking up. “Didn’t you know?”

_“Huh?”_

“I do not like Allura!” Shiro cried. A room full of curious eyes shot over to him, including those of Allura, who just grinned, looking oddly smug. Shiro burned red and ducked behind the sink, trying to resist the urge to hide his face in his hands. He’d never been more embarrassed and he blamed Keith and Lance.

Both children grinned. “Totally knew it,” Lance said, before he grabbed a hold of Keith’s hand. “Come on, let’s go play with the planes! I want to be the blue one again.”

“I’m the red one,” Keith said, his eyes locked on Lance as Lance paraded him across the room.

Shiro let out a longsuffering sigh. Between the children’s cheeky behaviour and Allura’s never ending, knowing looks, he’d never get any peace!

And yet, when he thought about it, he’d never want it to change.


	2. Storm

When Shiro was a kid, he could remember being quite apprehensive about storms. His father would take him out onto the front porch when one hit, and when thunder would clap, they’d both scream until their voices were hoarse. Somehow, confronting his discomfort like that had eased it, and he’d never been particularly bothered by storms again.

Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t understand when other children were. Storms didn’t often come while he was at work, but when they did it always promised a tense afternoon. Most children could be distracted with a movie, or an unusually sweet treat passed around on pieces of paper towel. During storms, Shiro and his co-workers were always more careful around the children, always more perceptive and watchful.

Shiro’s little band of followers were some of those who feared storms. Pidge wasn’t fussed, and was usually easily distracted by Shiro’s phone or a book. Keith didn’t like to admit that he got startled by the loud weather, but he did. Hunk and Lance were downright terrified. 

Sometimes, when the storm was bad enough, Shiro would cancel their afternoon lesson and let the kids have free time instead. That often worked to soothe their worries over the noise outside the building – he’d put a movie on, and spread out a bunch of toys and books from the rewards chest that the kids got to go through when they’d done something well, and he’d be set for the afternoon. Sometimes, however, it didn’t work.

One afternoon, there was a storm bad enough that the lights started to flicker. Most of the kids were playing with toys or doing crafts with Allura, but some were curled up on the beanbags in the recreation room with a movie on. Shiro was supervising them – he’d been convinced (dragged) to sit on the beanbags too, and had his little quartet of kids sprawled out across his lap or legs, taking up most of his personal space and occasionally elbowing him in the ribs, though he didn’t complain.

“Shiro,” Lance said, tugging on Shiro’s shirt a little, “how much longer is it going to storm outside?”

“It’s really loud,” Hunk whimpered, flinching when another boom of thunder rumbled through the entire building.

Shiro put his hand – his normal hand – on top of Lance’s head to ruffle his hair. “Don’t worry about it,” he said soothingly. “We’re safe in here.”

“The storm isn’t strong enough to break a building,” Pidge said helpfully from where he was leaning against Shiro’s legs, his eyes firmly fixed on the television. “Just a few trees or something.”

“Trees?” Keith repeated incredulously. He was sitting on the same side as Lance, pressed against Shiro’s side. “Shiro, is that gonna happen? What if a tree falls on us?”

Shiro gave Pidge an unimpressed look. “A tree won’t fall on us,” he said. “You’ll be alright, so don’t worry, yeah? It’s just a bit of rain.”

Lance frowned. His eyebrows had puckered in worry, a look he didn’t often wear. His fingers were digging into Shiro’s arm. “Are you sure?” He asked.

“If Shiro says it, then it must be true,” Keith said, staring at Lance. He had a strange look in his eyes, one that Shiro thought might be something protective. “Do you want a drink? I’m going to go get water.”

“Okay,” Lance mumbled, sinking further into the beanbag. Shiro rubbed his back comfortingly, and watched as Keith wandered over to the water dispenser by the small kitchenette the building had. He was surprised that Keith wasn’t teasing Lance over his fear, but it was very mature of him that he wasn’t. Even when Keith returned with water for the both of them he didn’t say anything. 

Sighing, Shiro settled back into the beanbag. Even if it was quite cold outside, he was pleasantly warm, and rather comfortable. Being buried under a pile of squirming kids wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be.

Eventually, with the noise of the television in the background, the kids fell asleep. Pidge remained awake, keen to watch the movie, but the others didn’t. Hunk was slumped over the other end of the beanbag, curled up behind Pidge’s back. Keith and Lance were facing each other, with Lance tucked under Shiro’s arm – he still hadn’t let go of it, and Shiro was reluctant to disturb him, so he let it be. Strangely enough, Lance’s other hand was curled tightly around Keith’s.

“You look comfortable,” Allura remarked as she peered into the recreation room. She looked pleased. “Need anything?”

Shiro flushed, and shook his head. “I think we’re good.”


	3. Sandcastle

In the spacious yard behind the Altea Kindergarten building, there was a sandpit. It was pretty large, and they usually kept it covered with a tarp so that nothing got in the sand when it wasn’t in use. They didn’t uncover it often, mostly because sand tended to get _everywhere_ when children were involved, but during the summers they did.

The kids loved the sandpit. They carried over plastic buckets full of water to make sandcastles and loved to play around with the matching spades, digging holes as far down as they could during the time that the sandpit was open.

Shiro’s little gang were no exception. Pidge always created the best structures out of sand, and Hunk was quite good at helping him. They made a really good team when it came to sandcastle contests. Keith and Lance, however, did not. Just like with everything else, they argued like it was going out of fashion. Shiro had never known two children to ever have a dynamic like theirs.

First they argued over who got to have the bucket when making the sandcastles – it was beside the point that there were enough buckets for everyone, because they each wanted one specific bucket. Then they argued over what to build, where to build it, and who built it better. Really, it gave Shiro head spins.

Eventually, he found them each a separate bucket and shovel. “Here, have these,” he said, handing them over. Red for Keith, blue for Lance. That usually did the trick. “Why don’t you help Pidge build his city, hmm? That will look good.”

They’d glanced at each other when he’d suggested that, and thankfully complied. Of course, he hadn’t taken into account Pidge’s competitive spirit – it was with a gusty laugh that Pidge had declared a sandcastle war between himself and Hunk, and Keith and Lance. Shiro wasn’t going to get himself involved in _that._

“Having fun?” Allura asked as she wandered over. Her long hair was tied up today in a futile attempt to keep it sand free, though Shiro could already see grains sticking to her knees and palms. She’d probably been helping the kids build their castles. They liked to declare her their princess (she’d be a good princess, Shiro thought. She was definitely the princess type, in a good way). 

“Something like that,” Shiro answered, laughing quietly. He was leaning against one of the padded poles that held up the overhead shade, but he straightened when Allura came to stand beside him. “They’re enjoying themselves, at least. Pidge really likes to build things.”

“I’ve noticed,” Allura chuckled. “How are Keith and Lance getting along?”

“Loudly.”

“Still arguing?”

“Like an old married couple.”

Allura laughed again. “Maybe it’s just their thing.”

Shiro nodded. “Maybe.”

In the end, the kids roped the adults into helping them finish their sandcastle walls. Shiro was, of course, with his little quartet. Pidge’s creations were well underway, and even Keith and Lance had got a nice little building going, complete with leaf flags and rock windows. Allura was helping a group of girls who decorated their castles with flowers and sticks. 

Oddly enough, the winner of the castle war was Coran and his group of kids. He always was a weirdo.

Still, it was nice to spend time in the sun like they did. Shiro ended up with sand crunching between the joints of his hand and more than enough of it scattered through his clothes, as did the children, but it was worth it. Pidge stood proudly by his castle after declaring that it was a spaceship-castle while Hunk smiled on. Keith and Lance had returned to bickering over their creation (“the flower goes _here,_ Keith!” and “No way, it should go here!”). 

It was a pleasant afternoon.


	4. Lion

The kids didn’t often need to nap now that they were older. They were at that age where sleeping during the day was a rare occurrence that only needed to happen after big gala days or sporting events. 

Shiro definitely enjoyed the afternoon naps. As much as they were a break designed for the children to recover, they were a break for him, too. All the kids would be given a yoga-type mat to lay down on, and a blanket and pillow. They’d make their “base” in the recreation room after pushing all the furniture to the walls and just like that, they’d sleep.

The quiet while they slept was always quite startling. Shiro had become accustomed to their noise, their chatter; when it was gone the rooms seem to echo and he never quite knew what to do with himself. Most of the time, he cleaned. 

He’d generally clean up for the two hours or so that the children slept, moving from room to room to put away toys and straighten chairs. Other times he might help Coran in the kitchen, though Coran was very adamant that the kitchen was his “sacred studio” and that it was not to be disturbed. He was a strange, strange man.

That day, there wasn’t much to clean, and he instead found himself wandering around after Allura. She was chatting to herself quietly, though the conversation was for Shiro’s ears, too. He was rather content to listen to her voice echo around the building.

“My father will be visiting here soon,” she said, as she put away a stack of loose paper. “I hope he’s enjoyed his holidays. He always says that coming here is more of a holiday than going anywhere else.”

Shiro hummed. He’d heard a lot about Allura’s father from her herself; she adored him, and their close connection was very evident. Shiro hadn’t known his father that well, and he’d died when Shiro was quite young, but he got along with his mother well. 

“Oh! You haven’t met him, have you?” Allura suddenly asked, turning to peer up at him. “Do you want to meet him the next time he comes here?”

Shiro flushed. Meet her father? Meet _Allura’s_ father? Of course he wanted to meet the man she loved so much! And of course he’d never say that! “If you want me to,” he finally said. He was rather surprised his voice turned out as even as it did. “I’d love to meet him.”

Allura gave him an easy grin. If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, which they very much might have been what with his Allura-shaded glasses on, then he was sure she was blushing. “Great!” She said. “It’s a date, then.”

Shiro spluttered. “D-date-”

“Shiro?” A sleepy voice asked.

He jumped, and turned around. Lance was standing in the doorway to the recreation room, his blue blanket and matching stuffed lion tucked under one arm. “Lance!” Shiro said on an exhale, before walking over to pick the child up. “What’s wrong, Lance?”

“I can’t sleep,” Lance mumbled. He was rubbing at one eye with his knuckles, so Shiro carefully directed his hand away.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Shiro said. He adjusted his grip on Lance to rest Lance on his hip, safely tucked in the circle of his natural arm. “Just relax, buddy.”

He’d hardly said the words before Lance’s head was touching his shoulder and his eyes were shut. How did children manage to fall asleep so easily? It would never cease to amaze him.

Allura was watching him from across the room, one hip propped against the nearest bench. “I guess he just wanted company,” she chuckled quietly. “Where did he get that lion? I haven’t ever seen it before.”

Shiro flushed. “I- ah, that would be me,” he said. “I kind of got one for all four of them… I didn’t mean to play favourites or anything, but they just fit so well-”

Allura raised her brows. She wandered over to peer into the recreational room, where Hunk, Pidge and Keith were still asleep with the other children, though they were tucked away in their own corner. They each had a matching blanket and lion, just like Lance did. Hunk’s were yellow, Pidge’s were green, and Keith’s were red. How could Shiro have not gotten them?

“Oh,” Allura said, eyebrows going up, “they do match quite well, don’t they? Don’t worry about playing favourites or anything Shiro, everyone knows you love all the kids equally. Even they know that.”

Letting out a sigh, Shiro nodded his head. He was glad to hear that reassurance from her. When Allura said it, it really meant something. Absently, he rocked Lance in his arms.

“Did you get one for yourself?” She asked teasingly, peering up at him again. 

“No?”

 

The next day, Shiro was cornered by his little quartet and Allura. The children squabbled over him until he was forced down onto one of the beanbags, and laughing, he complied. “What is this?” He asked as Allura leaned over the five of them. “Am I being put under arrest, or something?”

His words made the children laugh. Allura, too.

“No!” Lance finally said. “Allura and us all got you something!”

“That’s Miss Allura to you,” Allura said, though it wasn’t unkindly. 

“Got me something?” Shiro repeated, puzzled.

The children stared at Allura pointedly. She rolled her eyes, but in a dramatic flourish, pulled out a plastic bag from behind her back. The kids each shared a handle – Keith and Lance on one side, Hunk and Pidge on the other – to pull it open and expose its contents.

Inside, sitting on a folded, black blanket, was a small black lion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to upload The Quiet today, and I have a chapter about 60% complete, but I was just far too tired to finish it ^___T These take me less time to write and edit, so I'm glad I can post them as my daily writings instead ❤
> 
> On a side note, I do accept requests for these (or anything in particular you can think of, really). Feel free to send me one if you would like!  
> [my tumblr](http://milkteamiku.tumblr.com/)  
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/fairydens)


	5. Bully

From what Shiro could tell, there wasn’t much, if any, bullying going on in Altea Kindergarten. Sure, Keith and Lance argued a lot, but it was never particularly spiteful, and never physical. They had a good bunch of kids that knew none of their carers would stand for any sort of bad behaviour. 

That’s why when something _did_ happen, Shiro was always rather shocked. It had only happened one other time since he’d been employed – a younger girl had been bullied by someone from a neighbouring school, and boy if he hadn’t ever seen Allura so mad. She’d never let the children see her upset and had comforted them until they could no longer remember why they were uneasy, but she’d resolved the issue with the school within a day. She could get quite scary when she was protective.

But this time it was one of his kids. Okay maybe they weren’t _his_ his, but he took special interest in Pidge, Hunk, Keith and Lance. They were his little troopers, his quartet. Seeing any of them upset always twisted his heart.

Kids could be cruel when they wanted to. He worried over each and every one of them because of their differences. Pidge was quiet, nerdy, and called himself a boy when he was biologically born a girl. Hunk was too kind, and soft around the edges; more so than the other children, despite his good health. Keith could be sharp with his tongue, which invited others to be the same, and his somewhat ethnic features might be cause for bullying from small-minded people. It was the same for Lance, not to mention his flamboyant personality and loud mouth could be quite startling and attention-demanding. Other people didn’t always like that.

Shiro thought it had probably been started by Lance, but that he hadn’t done anything wrong. Maybe the older boys from the other school had overheard something Lance said, or Lance had accidentally bumped into one of them in his excitement. He’d done that a few times before, even to Shiro. It wasn’t hard to imagine.

What was hard to imagine was that anyone would ever lash out at Lance for it. Accidents were accidents, and Lance knew when and how to apologise. How could anyone ever shout at him and push him over for something that he’d apologised for?

“Does anything else hurt?” Shiro asked, eyebrows drawn up in concern as he carefully lifted Lance up to sit on his desk. He had the first aid kit in hand, and crouched on one knee to open it. “Did you hit your head?”

“No,” Lance mumbled, his voice quiet. It was off-putting when a kid like him was quiet like that, and Shiro didn’t like it. He already missed Lance’s smile and it had only been an afternoon.

Shiro carefully cleaned the scrape on Lance’s knee and tried not to wince when Lance flinched. It probably stung a lot, but it had to be done. He didn’t want Lance to get an infection from it. As gently as he could, he peeled off a blue Band-Aid and stuck it across the scrape. “There, all better,” he said, offering Lance what he hoped was a confident smile. “Anything else hurt?”

Lance shook his head, and jumped down off the table. Shiro ruffled his hair and sent him on his way before turning to pack up the first aid kit. He was throwing away the rubbish from the Band-Aid when Allura wondered in, a frown on her face.

“Is Lance alright?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro admitted. “He won’t tell me what happened, but he seems a little shaken up.”

“Was he hurt?”

“Just a scrape on the knee.”

Allura’s hand fell to the small of his back. Shiro was so tense he hadn’t even heard her approach, and he jumped at her light touch, though she didn’t move away. “You’re worried that it’ll happen again,” she said. 

“I guess I am.”

She let out a small laugh. “Don’t worry too much, Shiro,” she said. “I’ve already had a chat with the school, it won’t happen again.”

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh, too. Allura said “chat” the same way someone else might have said “threaten with bodily harm”. It was usually Allura that dealt with other schools and child care agencies, so Shiro was more than comfortable to leave all that business up to her. He was just concerned about Lance. 

It didn’t help that Keith looked particularly upset by it, too. He moped around more than usual and kept a sharp eye on Lance, like he expected Lance to suddenly get pushed over again. Shiro didn’t think Keith had ever come across a situation like this, and he wondered if he should mention it to Keith’s parents when they came to pick him up.

The next day, when Shiro was filing away paperwork at his desk, Allura came looking for him. “I just got a call from the centre where those other boys are,” she said. That certainly got his attention. “Apparently they had another go at Lance when the boys were walking here, and Keith pushed them over.”

Shiro’s eyebrows shot up. _“Keith_ did? Not Lance?”

Allura shrugged. “Talk to them, yeah? As much as they aren’t at fault, fighting violence with violence won’t solve anything.”

“I know.”

Keith looked rather petulant when Shiro set him and Lance down for a talk. He was scowling furiously, and had his fingers clamped tightly around Lance’s wrist. It looked a little painful, and his knuckles were going a little white, but Lance didn’t say anything.

“You know fighting isn’t the right thing to do,” Shiro said. “You shouldn’t have pushed the other boy.”

“He was being mean to Lance,” Keith muttered, his scowl deepening. “Only I can be mean to Lance.”

Shiro kind of wanted to laugh, though he didn’t. Of course that would be Keith’s reason for defending his friend. He knew there was something more to it, that Keith actually cared about Lance, but he wouldn’t say it out loud. Maybe he didn’t realise. “Even so, promise me you won’t do it again.”

“I promise.”

“You too, Lance.”

“I promise.”

Shiro sighed. “Good, alright. You weren’t hurt, were you?”

Keith shook his head.

“Alright,” Shiro said again. He stood, but bent over to bring them both into a hug. He was rather comforted when they returned it. “Off you go, then. I’m sure Hunk and Pidge are missing you.”

They wandered off to join the others and Shiro had to resist the urge to follow after them like a mother hen. He knew they’d be fine and that in a few weeks they’d forget why they were ever upset, but he couldn’t help but worry. They were just kids, after all.

A hand suddenly slapped against his back. “Stop frowning!” Allura said, smiling brightly as Shiro hunched over from the force of her hand. “You’re messing up your pretty face.”

Shiro spluttered, his ears going red. “P-pretty?” 

Allura just grinned.


	6. Makeover

Allura’s father arrived the next week. Mr Alfor was a tall man with much the same demeanour as Allura, which eased Shiro’s worries a little. Allura had spent the last few days comforting him regarding his nerves, and while he very much appreciated her efforts, he was still quite apprehensive. 

This wasn’t just his boss he was meeting for the first time, or even just the man who had offered him a job and a place to belong when he thought there was nowhere for him. This was Allura’s _dad._ He was the man she idolised, the one who had raised her to be the wonderful woman she was now. How could be not be nervous when he thought about meeting a person she loved so much?

It didn’t help that his little group of kids had picked up on his nervousness. They liked to tease him about his “date” with Allura, even when he embarrassedly insisted it wasn’t a date. Their teasing, though he didn’t really hate it as much as he made it seem like he did, really ramped up the day Alfor was coming down.

“Shiro, you have to sit!” Lance insisted. His little hands were wrapped tightly around Shiro’s flesh one. He hadn’t let go for the past ten minutes. “Please!”

“I really don’t need-”

 _“Please!”_

How could Shiro say no when Lance was giving him the biggest puppy-dog eyes on the planet? It should be criminal to look so cute.

“F-fine,” he relented. “Just don’t do anything… major.”

“We won’t!” Lance said as a grin stretched across his face. “Promise!”

The four of them set Shiro down on one of the beanbags in the recreation room. He was already regretting his decision, but the excited looks on the kid’s faces swayed him a little. Even Pidge was looking uncharacteristically enthusiastic about the whole thing.

They wanted to give him a makeover. Shiro didn’t know how they were going to do that, but they wanted to. 

Hunk started by taking Shiro’s normal hand. He had one of their sand buckets filled with water, and he gently dipped Shiro’s fingers into it. “My Ma says manicures are a great way to relax!” Hunk said. 

Shiro tried not to smile, but it was hard. Hunk really was the sweetest kid. 

“Can I do your other hand?” Hunk asked.

Shiro hesitated. He still sometimes feared that the children would recoil away from his metal hand, and he was always sure to keep it away from them. If he ruffled their hair, or held their hands, or put a hand on their shoulder, it was always with his left. 

Hunk reached for his hand before he’d answered the question, taking it in his own little fingers like it was made from skin and bone and not metal. He treated it just as gently as he did with Shiro’s other hand, and somehow Hunk’s relaxed nature calmed Shiro down. He knew his fears over his hand were irrational, but having that enforced always made him feel a little better. He wasn’t feared by the children. They weren’t frightened of his prosthetic.

From the box where all the toy dolls and accessories were kept, Pidge brought out a comb. “I’m going to fix your hair,” he declared. “Why is this one part white, anyway?”

Shiro let out a tense laugh. He did have a weird white strip in his hair, though it had only appeared after his accident. The doctors said it was probably due to stress. He thought it was just plain odd. “Just is,” he told Pidge.

With less care than Hunk, Pidge dragged the comb through his hair. It wasn’t meant for human hair and the prongs were quite close together so it kind of hurt, but Shiro didn’t say anything. Pidge looked pleased to be able to participate. 

“I’ll make your hair look more presentable,” Pidge said. “You should brush it more often, Mr Shiro.”

He laughed a little. He did, in fact, brush his hair every morning. He looked a little crazy if he didn’t, even though he wasn’t that rough of a sleeper. “Thanks for helping me, Pidge.”

Pidge grinned at him. He had little dimples that didn’t often appear, but they were there, then. It was nice to see them. 

Keith and Lance were bickering amongst themselves as they reappeared. It looked like they had a fluffy, pink hair tie and a bunch of colourful hair clips between them. “We’ll put this in first,” Lance said, “then these.”

Though he looked a bit sceptical, Keith nodded. “Okay, but I’m putting in the red ones.”

When they turned on him, he knew he was well and truly done for. Still, he sat still and wore a smile on his face as Keith and Lance grabbed fistfuls of his hair and turned his head around like he was an owl. They took turns pulling apart sections of hair to pin in all directions with sparkly clips and gathered the main bulk of his hair – that infuriating white part – to tie back with the fluffy hair tie, which Pidge promptly brushed again. 

By the end of it, Shiro’s scalp was sore and his cheeks hurt from smiling. Hunk had cleaned his hands, Pidge had brushed his hair and Keith and Lance had somehow managed to wrangle every single strand into a decorative clip or tie. He was sure his hair had never hurt so much, but he would never complain, not when his kids looked so damn proud of themselves.

“Thanks for helping me,” Shiro said when he was finally let up. Every time he moved he could feel a different pin pulling on his hair. “What would I do without you guys?”

Lance grinned, and put his hands on his hips. “You’d be a mess,” he declared. “We made you look pretty.”

“He already looked pretty,” Keith corrected. “Now he looks prettier.”

“Oh! Good point.”

“Thanks,” Shiro said dryly. The kids didn’t notice.

When he managed to escape into the bathroom, he let out a choked noise at the sight of himself. His hair looked worse than it did when he’d had a rough night; it stuck up in every direction and seemed to be half made out of glittery pins. He’d never looked more ridiculous. 

“Shiro?”

He jumped at the sound of Allura’s voice, and opened the bathroom door for her. “Please help me get this stuff out,” he begged. “I can’t meet your father like this.”

Allura covered her mouth with a hand to muffle her laughter. “What happened to your hair?” She asked, her cheeks flushed with amusement. “Did the kids do that?”

“Stop laughing and fix it,” Shiro cried. _“Allura!_ Stop laughing! Allura!”


	7. Photo

The telltale sound of a camera shutter clicking had Shiro jumping. He turned away from the bathroom mirror he had been frantically peering into to give Allura an incredulous look. “Allura, did you just take a photo of me?”

“Not _of_ you,” she said, as a teasing grin spread across her face. _“With_ you! Wanna see?”

Sure enough, she’d angled her phone to catch her smug, grinning face in the bottom corner of the photo. Shiro was leaning up against the bathroom sink, his eyes wide with horror as he looked at his reflection. Sure enough, his mangled, glittery, pin-covered hair was front and center in the photo.

“Allura! Delete that!”

“No way!” She cried, darting out of reach when Shiro grabbed for her phone. “I’m saving this and making it my wallpaper!”

“Oh my God, give me the phone!”

“No!”

“Allura!” Shiro whined. He lunged at her again, gripping her waist with his metal hand to reach for her phone with the other. “You can’t save that! It’s way too embarrassing!”

She laughed as his fingers dug into her side. “I’m keeping it, I’m keeping it!”

“Give it!”

“No!”

Shiro let out a startled sound as Allura suddenly jerked in his grip, her chest heaving with laughter. His feet got tangled up beneath him and before he knew it, the both of them were toppling over. Something akin to panic flashed through him at the thought of crushing her, and his grip tightened around her waist. His hand hit the floor first and Allura was caught in the crook of his arm, safe and sound.

Which would have been okay, had she not had _every single part of her body pressed right up against his._

“I-I’m so sorry,” Shiro said, frantic. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

Allura was still grinning. She was so close that Shiro swore he could feel that smile of hers against his lips. Had her eyes always been so blue? “I’m perfectly fine,” Allura said cheerily. “And I’m keeping the photo.”

Shiro groaned.

“I didn’t know your arms were so muscly,” Allura remarked. “I quite like it.”

“W-what-” Shiro choked on his words.

“I’m not interrupting something, am I?”

Shiro stiffened, fearing that one of the children’s parents had caught them in such a provocative position. When he anxiously glanced up, a stranger was standing before him. He had oddly familiar white hair, and a raised-eyebrow look that reminded him a lot… of Allura...

Allura let out a happy burst of laughter. “Father!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update because I'm going to a 5SOS concert tonight ^^ Depending on what time I get home, I may post another short one shot here! ٩(｡•ㅅ•｡)و 
> 
> You know, I didn't really ship these two before writing this series~ ^q^


	8. Meeting

Mr Alfor looked like he wanted to be unamused, but couldn’t hide it. He had a traitorous smile twitching at the corners of his lips, and it was an expression Shiro knew well – he’d seen it a dozen times on Allura, had admired it on her a dozen times, too. On Mr Alfor, however, it was very different.

Especially when Shiro was holding his daughter in such a provocative way.

Before Shiro could drop her in surprise, Allura righted herself. “It’s so nice to see you again!” She exclaimed as she threw her arms around her father’s neck. A bright, flushed smile had come over her face. Maybe she was embarrassed as well, though she seemed too happy to care. “I thought you were going to come by this afternoon.”

“I got here earlier than expected and came straight away,” Alfor said, as he hugged Allura tightly. “I wanted to see you again, I missed you. Is this the Shiro you’ve told me so much about?”

Shiro flushed. Allura talked about him? She talked to _her father_ about _him?_ What did she say? God, there were so many bad things she could say, like that one time he accidentally crushed one of the kid’s paddle pop stick sculptures or when he spilt an entire carton of orange juice all over the freshly washed floors or that one time he left a box of push pins on a lower shelf or-

“Yes, this is him,” Allura said. She held out a hand to Shiro, and he hurried to scramble to his feet, his flush deepening. “Shiro, this is my father.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Shiro said as politely as he could manage. He was aching to hold out his hand, but his right hand was his dominant one, and people usually baulked at the idea of shaking his prosthetic. Most people eyed his arm for an awkward moment before deciding not to offer their own. It was always an uncomfortable situation, but Shiro didn’t exactly see a way out of it for himself or the person he was greeting.

Surprisingly, however, Alfor held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, Shiro.”

Dumbly, Shiro shook Alfor’s hand. He wondered if the metal was too cold, but Alfor didn’t even flinch. His grip was strong and confident, and he didn’t shake Shiro’s hand as though he was afraid he might accidentally pull off the whole arm. Somehow, it was a huge relief. Shiro guessed he was still quite self-conscious over his arm, even though he’d long since accepted its presence and its impact on his life.

Alfor’s eyes drifted up. “Is that your usual hair style?”

Shiro let out an embarrassed groan, his hands flying up to pull at the pins in his hair. “N-no, it’s not, I’m sorry-”

“Don’t apologise!” Allura said, grinning, as she pressed her hand to the small of his back. Recently, that seemed to have become her favourite place to touch him. “The kids did it earlier. They absolutely love giving him makeovers.”

“Do they, now?”

At least Alfor seemed entertained, despite Shiro’s evident mortification. Shiro didn’t think a first meeting with someone so important could have gone any worse. Of course, if the kids had gotten a hold of the children’s makeup and face paint then it could have gone much, much worse. Shiro was just thankful that it had all been used up by the girls last month. Imagining his kids getting their paws on something like that to use on his face was horrifying. 

“Oh, the kids love Shiro,” Allura said, waving a hand. “He lets them run all over him!”

“Allura!” Shiro hissed, eyes stricken. “They don’t run all over me!”

She laughed. She was totally doing that on purpose. “Oh alright, I’ll stop teasing you,” she said. “But you’re definitely soft on them. I know you sleep with your lion!”

 _“Allura!_ I told you that in confidence!”

“Oh hush, it’s adorable and you know it,” she grinned. “Besides, Lance told all the other kids. They think you’re even more like them now than ever.”

Shiro had never wanted to hide under his bedsheets more than he did in that moment. Alfor looked like he was holding back laughter, and Allura looked so ridiculously smug that Shiro didn’t know what to do with himself. This was not how he imagined his first time meeting Allura’s father to go, and yet he was a little relieved. At least he couldn’t make any worse of a first impression, surely? It could only go up from there. Right? He really hoped so.

“Hold on, I’ll go get Coran to take the kids outside for a bit so we can chat,” Allura said. She patted Shiro’s back a few times. “You stay here, I’ll be back in a moment.”

He hesitated at that, his stomach coiling with nerves. He didn’t want to mess up, and without Allura around, he felt like he’d lost his safety net. Every step she took away from him was like a stone sinking in his stomach. 

“Don’t panic too much,” Alfor said. He was watching Shiro with a rather perceptive gaze, but he didn’t seem upset or angry. Instead, he just seemed curious, and amused. He wasn’t hiding it anymore. “From what Allura has told me, you’re a good man. She speaks very highly of you. And very often.”

Shiro’s heart fluttered. Hearing that made him ridiculously happy, and he hoped it didn’t show too much. “She’s a good person,” he said. “I’m really thankful for all she’s done for me, and to you, too.”

“Me?” Alfor’s eyebrows rose. “Why?”

“Well, you’re the one that offered me this job,” Shiro said. He held up his right arm. “This kind of… limits what I can do, now. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do something I enjoy.”

“And do you enjoy this?”

Shiro smiled; he couldn’t help it. Thinking about the kids and Coran and Allura always made him smile. “I do,” he said. “I love the kids, and I love All- I love working here.”

Alfor laughed.

Shiro turned scarlet. _That was too close of a call!_

“Well, I’m glad you enjoy it,” Alfor said, placing a warm hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Now let’s go find that daughter of mine before she does something over the top, hmm?”


	9. Smile

It was photo day.

The dreaded day only occurred once a year, but this year was Shiro’s first year doing it. He hadn’t been prepared for the absolute chaos that the kindergarten became. And boy did it become unavoidably chaotic.

Oddly enough, it started with the parents. When they dropped off their kids many of them left specific instructions for how they wanted their child’s picture to go. They left alternative outfits in case the first got dirty and even left hairbrushes with specific instructions on which direction to part their child’s hair. Shiro thought it was all a bit excessive, but Allura assured him it was what usually happened. 

Thankfully, Shiro was only assigned to keep track of his four kids. Allura had most of the girls under wraps, and Coran had the remainder of the class. Oddly enough, he was the best at wrangling them into their proper positions, and he could produce the prettiest smiles from them with hardly any effort. Of course, that wasn’t to say he had particularly difficult kids, either. 

Hunk was generally quite well-tempered, and smiled as soon as Shiro asked him to. The photographer seemed relieved to have a quick and easy session, and soon enough Hunk was returning to play with the other kids. 

Pidge was somewhat more difficult. His parents wanted him to wear a dress and hair bow, but he wasn’t having any of it. It wasn’t like his parents didn’t understand his gender and identity preferences, but sometimes Pidge didn’t mind wearing more girly clothing, and he still sometimes responded to his birth name. That day, however, he just wasn’t cooperating. His parents had asked Shiro to get him to wear the clothes they left for him, but Shiro couldn’t bring himself to upset Pidge like that.

He spent a lot of time comforting Pidge while the other students had their photos taken. He carried Pidge around on his hip and carefully made sure not to mention his dress or hair bow. Pidge spent the entire morning scowling, red-cheeked but without tears. His fingers were tightly clenched in the collar of Shiro’s jacket. Shiro eventually managed to convince him to take the photo, but he left Pidge in the clothes he wore to kindergarten that morning, his dress forgotten. Getting Pidge to smile was a bit of a challenge, but Shiro eventually succeeded in doing it by showing him Allura’s framed picture of Shiro from when the kids had done his hair.

Getting Keith to smile was a challenge, too. He had a face that naturally fell into a scowl, and if that were not the case, then he always tended to look rather bored. His parents had dressed him nicely and brushed his hair neat, and although he didn’t seem to particularly mind, he just couldn’t smile on demand. It looked as awkward as it probably felt for him. In the end, it had been Lance that had gotten Keith to smile, though Shiro was still puzzled as to exactly _how_ the kid had managed it.

Of the four, Lance was perhaps the most camera ready. He loved attention and loved to dress up, and seemed to be quite conscious of his appearance, though not in a bad way. He liked to smile and liked to entertain, and in taking photos he could do both. He had Shiro brush his hair before the photo was taken, but other than that he was perfectly fine. 

It really was an eventful day. Shiro was left exhausted, and rather glad that it was over. Of course, that was before he knew that the staff had to take photos, too – and not just one, but individual photos, a group photo, and then a photo with the children.

_Will it never end?_


	10. Preparations

When Lance’s birthday rolled around, the kids asked Shiro if they could throw a surprise party. It was Hunk that remembered the date, of course, but oddly enough it was Keith that brought up the idea of throwing a party for Lance. Shiro was all for it.

“What exactly do you guys want to do?” He asked the week before Lance’s actual birthday. Lance’s mother hadn’t dropped him off for the day yet, so they had some time to plan while he wasn’t around.

“It should be a surprise party,” Keith said. He was holding onto Shiro’s flesh arm with both hands, stood up on his toes, in an attempt to capture Shiro’s attention (though he already had it). “We should turn the lights off and jump out when he comes in.”

Shiro chuckled. He’d never seen Keith look quite so determined. “That sounds good,” he said, crouching even lower so that Keith didn’t have to stand on his toes. “Do you want to have a theme?”

Keith frowned thoughtfully. “Yeah, but I don’t know what.”

Hunk touched a tentative hand to Shiro’s other arm, drawing his attention. “What about a blue theme? It’s his favourite colour.”

“That sounds good,” Shiro nodded. “What do you think, Keith?”

“It’s good!” Keith replied, looking pleased and excited. “Can we do that?”

“Sure.”

“How are we going to get decorations?” Pidge frowned, ever the realist.

“Tell me what you want and I’ll see if I can grab it,” Shiro offered. 

“But money…”

“It’s alright, Pidge,” Shio said, chuckling. “I want to throw the party, too! It will be fun.”

Pidge still looked sceptical, but didn’t argue. He was quite a worrier sometimes. It was sweet.

They set about to making a list that morning. Shiro was sure to write down everything they wanted on his phone. Keith was sure to insist that he get blue napkins, and Hunk suggested blue lollies. Pidge was more practical, suggesting blue plastic cups and plates.

Before he went out and bought any of it, he double checked with Allura that it was okay to have the party. She seemed more than excited for it, and even demanded that she accompany him on the shopping trip. 

“We can go out this weekend!” She said, grinning. “Oh, and we simply must get a cake, too. They want everything blue, right? A blueberry cake with blue fondant and icing sounds so good. Or should we get cupcakes, instead? Enough for everyone!”

It sounded good, but Shiro was a little concerned. “What if the other kids think we’re favouring him?”

Allura shook her head. “They’re fine as long as they get food, too. We can make it a party for all of them, just with a birthday cake for Lance. Besides, I have a feeling the kids will believe it was all Keith’s idea and we just went along with it.”

“That’s kind of what happened anyway.”

“Exactly! Are you free Sunday? We can go and get everything then, ready for Monday. Oh! And we can come in early and set it all up! I can ask Lance’s mother to bring him in a tad later so that everyone has the chance to arrive beforehand.”

 _Why does that sound suspiciously like a date? Oh god, is she asking me on a date?_ “I should be free.”

“Great!” Allura said. “Show me the list, I’m going to add to it. Oh, I’ll put my phone number in your phone while I’m at it, hmm? So you have more than my work number.”

Shiro was too flustered to do anything other than nod.


	11. Cupcakes

The party store was rather… colourful. Shiro had never really planned a party, not even his own, and seeing so many decorations bursting from every shelf on every aisle was quite a shock.

Allura, however, _loved it._ The traitor.

Shiro had picked her up bright and early on Sunday morning. She was dressed casually, more so than she did for work. She didn’t have to worry about fussy parents and the grabbing hands of children, after all. Without that affecting her choices, she’d chosen to wear a pair of shorts with lace around the edges, a pretty blouse and a stylish pink jacket that only went halfway down her waist. Shiro wasn’t all that knowledgeable when it came to clothes, but he thought that Allura was very fashionable.

She seemed quite excited about the idea of the party. She had her purse over one arm, and insisted on linking the other through Shiro’s (not that he protested much, or anything). She felt remarkably warm, and her skin was distractingly soft. Shiro didn’t know how he’d cope with a whole day of her undivided attention. Surely he’d combust before the sun went down.

“The kids want a blue theme, right?” Allura asked as she scanned the aisles with bright eyes. “Here, you hold the basket.”

He fumbled to catch the basket she thrust into one hand as she dragged him by the other across the store. “Y-yeah, blue is Lance’s favourite colour,” Shiro said. “Hunk suggested it.”

Allura cooed. “He’s such a sweetheart, isn’t he? Never gets into trouble.”

Shiro found himself nodding. He could talk about his group of kids all day, if only someone could stand to listen for so long. “He and Lance get along really well.”

“Yes, they do,” Allura agreed with a small laugh. “Oh, look over there! Everything is blue.”

And it was. Thankfully the party decorations seemed to be colour coded, and when the blue aisle came into view, Allura made a beeline for it. She was sure to keep a tight grip on Shiro’s arm, which Shiro was thankful for. He’d be so lost without her.

“Where to start?” Allura mused. “Shiro, what do you think?”

“Ah, wait a second,” he said, flustered, as he fished his phone out of his pocket. “I wrote everything down.”

Allura peered over his shoulder to read the list. “Seems like you got everything covered.”

He laughed a little. “The kids were very extensive in requests. They don’t want me to forget anything.”

Allured squared her shoulders. “Well, let’s get a move on then!”

 

Shiro carried the bags. He knew Allura was strong enough to do so on her own – the bags weren’t even all that heavy – but he felt good when he carried them, like he was being useful. The guy usually carried the girl’s bags, right? Allura seemed amused by his efforts, if nothing else.

They’d bought a lot of stuff. Napkins, straws, party hats, utensils and plates, banners and even these little pinwheels, all in a pretty blue shade, were stuffed into the bags Shiro carried. They had everything they could ever possibly need, and if he were being honest, seeing all the stuff excited Shiro. Lance was going to absolutely love it.

After they went to the party store, Allura decided to drag him to a bakery. There was one just around the corner than she liked, and who was Shiro to refuse her? It was a short walk, and the glow in her cheeks at the sight of the bakery was very much worth it. 

“These are my favourites,” she said, as they browsed the display. She was pointing at cupcakes decorated with pretty icing flowers, a small smile on her face.

Shiro felt _smitten._ “Want to get some?” He offered.

Her eyes widened. “Can we?”

Of course they could. Shiro didn’t know what he’d do for Allura (probably anything) but buying pretty cupcakes was easy. Seeing the delight on her face as the woman behind the register handed them over was an enlightening experience. Allura looked so beautiful when she smiled like that.

They ended up ordering cupcakes for the kids, instead of a cake. Everyone got their own cupcake covered in blue fondant and icing to match with the theme of the party. After the cupcakes were ordered and paid for, they walked to a local park to finish off the cupcakes. Allura had already nibbled away half of hers while Shiro ordered the cupcakes, so he offered her half of his. She didn’t even take the cake out from his hand before taking a bite, giving him a cheeky grin all the while.

“Yours tastes better,” she said.

He wondered how much more in love one could become with a person before it became clearly written across their forehead.


	12. Decorations

Getting all the cupcakes to fit into the refrigerator had been no easy task. The bakery had delivered them early that morning, along with an extra one of Allura’s favourites that Shiro had secretly added to the order. He’d hidden that one particularly well, and would give it to her when the kids had the rest of the cupcakes at lunchtime.

Oddly enough, he arrived at the kindergarten earlier than anyone. He had keys so he didn’t have to wait outside, which was good. He just thought he was overexcited, that’s all. Besides, he couldn’t wait to start decorating. They’d left the rooms extra clean at the end of the previous week in preparation for Lance’s birthday, and now he was finally getting to set up all the decorations he’d bought.

Of course, he didn’t want to do it without Allura, so he spread everything out on a table and waited for her to arrive. In the meantime, he managed to hide her cupcake and store the rest away in the fridge. He knew Coran would be horrified that he’d messed with the kitchen, but Shiro knew he’d be forgiven. Coran was just as excited about having a party, too.

Allura arrived a little while after Shiro. She seemed surprised that he was there so early, and just gave him a knowing look as she set aside her purse and jacket. “Ready to decorate, then?”

Shiro just smiled. He thought he was finally getting used to her teasing quips. “Let’s do it.”

They started with the banners. Well, Shiro started with the banners. While Allura was a pretty tall girl, she couldn’t quite reach as high as Shiro, and watching her stand on her toes to try and match his height had made him laugh. There were a few types of banners they had – some that said “happy birthday” and others that were more like bunting and streamers. They were all blue in colour, and just seeing them decorating the walls made Shiro grin.

As he was putting up the banners, Allura rearranged the main room of the building. She set up the tables in the rows they used for lunchtime, and placed blue plates, cutlery and napkins at every chair. They’d bought blue balloons, too, which had come already blown up and were now drifting aimlessly throughout the entire building. Blue party hats were also laid out on the tables, with the spares stacked off to the side. 

It all looked very exciting, and after Shiro was done with hanging the banners, he helped Allura set out blue bowls full of lollies and other sweet treats. He hadn’t known that one could buy _just_ blue jellybeans and _just_ blue MNMs, and yet there they were, ready to be eaten. 

“This looks so cool,” Allura said, smiling brightly as she stood beside Shiro to survey their work. The room was incredibly blue now, and everything looked quite festive. The sweet smell of the lollies was starting to fill the air. “I think we’ve done well, Shiro.”

“Me too,” Shiro agreed, grinning.

Allura elbowed him in the side, and laughed cheerfully. She didn’t seem at all bashful as she hugged Shiro’s arm, leaning into his side. The warmth of her skin and the soft press of her body had Shiro flushing almost instantly, but he didn’t pull away. Eventually Coran and the children would start to arrive, but for the moment, he was content to be with her.

“They’re going to love this,” Allura said. She peered up at Shiro, her blue eyes big and round. “It’s really thoughtful of you to have done this for Lance.”

“I-it wasn’t just me,” Shiro said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Hunk and the others helped me, too.”

Allura laughed again. “Yes, but you are the adult here,” she pointed out. “Your dedication to the kids always leaves me feeling happy.”

“Does it?”

“Of course!”

“Why?” 

Allura’s cheeks flushed, and she glanced away as she shrugged. “It just does,” she said. “Who wouldn’t be happy seeing the children flock to you? You treat them so sweetly, and spoil them rotten. The bond you have with them feels unbreakable.”

He hadn’t thought about it like that, but hearing Allura’s words made him feel oddly satisfied. He’d always admired the way she treated children, and seeing her surrounded by small, smiling faces all day always left him feeling good. The kids loved her almost as much as she loved them, and even if they weren’t biologically hers, she treated them with kindness and patience unlike anyone else ever did. He hadn’t realised that Allura had been watching him in the same way he’d always watched her, too.

Somehow, Allura had become even more charming.


	13. Surprise

Getting the kids to hide and stay quiet was harder than trying to fit two dozen cupcakes into a full fridge. Coran was surprisingly fantastic at finding hiding places – under the table, behind chairs, and even behind doors. Shiro was still frantically _fixing_ things even as Lance’s mother sent him a text message to say she was arriving now.

“Shiro!” Allura said, grabbing onto his arm as he rushed by her. “You need to hide too, you know!”

“I know, I know,” he admitted. “Is everything ready, though? What if I missed something?”

“Stop fretting, of course you didn’t,” she grinned. She patted the small of his back, and then pushed him towards the lights. “Go turn the lights off and hide with the kids. I’ll switch them back on when Lance comes in.”

“Okay,” Shiro said, exhaling, “okay, I’ll go do that.”

Keith, Hunk and Pidge were all crowded behind a lounge near the entry way, elbowing and jostling each other for the best position. Keith had a little wrapped present in his hand – it looked like he’d wrapped it himself – ready to give to Lance. Shiro’s heart had grown at the sight of it.

He switched off the lights before hunching down behind the couch as much as he could, and laughed when the kids finally stopped bickering. They didn’t like to argue around him, though Keith and Lance always did anyway. Shiro thought it was just the way they interacted, if he were being honest. He had become quite used to it now. 

“Shh,” Allura whispered to quieten the children. “He’s coming now!”

Shiro could hear Lance chattering away in the foyer. “We’re gonna be late, Mama! Hurry up!” He cried. It wasn’t hard to imagine that there was a dreadfully sad pout on his face, and it made Shiro want to laugh. Of course Lance didn’t want to miss out on any of the fun. 

As the entryway door pushed open, Shiro heard Lance let out a confused noise. It was dark, and difficult to see – he might have thought they were still closed. But then Allura suddenly flicked the lights on, and in a rush all of the children (and Coran) jumped out to shout, _“Surprise!”_

Shiro himself was so taken by surprise that he was late in jumping up, but he stood and laughed anyway. Lance had practically jumped out of his skin, but now his eyes were wide and his cheeks were flushed and he looked on the verge of tears. Hunk and Pidge had leapt forwards to wrap him in a tight hug, and Keith was quick to join them. Soon enough all the children were shouting and cheering and wishing him a happy birthday.

“Well that went well,” Allura said as she wandered over to stand beside Shiro. Together, they watched all the children play. Lance was still struck silent, and let himself be led around by the hand with Keith as Keith showed off all the decorations. “He looked quite surprised!”

“He did,” Shiro chuckled. There was a strange warmth in his stomach, one he eventually realised to be happiness. He was glad everything had worked out alright, and Lance looked so excited. 

What more could Shiro have asked for?

 

At lunch, Coran served the children food at the dining table Allura had set up. Shiro wandered around to make sure everyone was happy, and even received a tight hug from Lance on his way past. It seemed that someone had told him that Shiro helped out a lot. 

“Thank you, Shiro!” Lance said, grinning up at Shiro brightly. He had his cheek pressed against Shiro’s stomach and his little hands clenched in Shiro’s shirt. “This is so fun!”

Shiro laughed, and gently placed his hand on the back of Lance’s head. “Happy birthday, Lance.”

Keith gave Lance his gift after that. He’d been holding it all day waiting for the right moment, and Lance had been patient. Keith seemed particularly nervous about it, and Shiro wondered if that was because he wanted to impress Lance or not. They may have fought often, but they really were quite close.

Lance let out an elated noised as he pulled off the messily wrapped paper. “Keith, this is so cool!”

There were little boxed action figures hidden inside the tangled mess of paper and clear tape. When Shiro peered over Lance’s shoulder to have a closer look, he noticed that the figures were the ones that matched the toy lions he bought them. He wasn’t quite sure what the show was called, but he recognised the Red and Blue pilot almost instantly.

“W-we can play together, if you want,” Keith mumbled, nervously wringing his fingers. “’Cause I’m Red, and you’re Blue...”

“Yeah!” Lance exclaimed, thrusting the red box into Keith’s hands. “We can! We can! This is so cool!”

Keith’s face brightened, and his cheeks flushed. He gave Lance an absolutely dazzling grin and Shiro felt his heart melt a little.

When everyone was done, Shiro and Allura brought out the cupcakes. He’d never seen Lance’s eyes light up as fast as they did at the sight of the little treats. Kids always loved cake, and they practically buzzed with excitement as the cupcakes were evenly handed out. Shiro even put a little candle in Lance’s, and then he blew it out after they’d sung “happy birthday”.

He’d went to find Allura’s cupcake while the kids devoured their treats. She was busy watching over them when he approached her, and struck with a sudden bought of nervousness, he hid the cake behind his hands.

“Shiro?” She peered at him curiously, and tried to see behind his back. “What have you got there?”

How did she always figure him out so fast? Shiro would never understand it. After clearing his throat once, he handed her the cupcake. “You said they were your favourite.”

Allura’s eyes widened. “They are!” She said, grinning. “You remembered.”

He nodded. “Thanks for helping me with everything,” he replied. “I really appreciate it.”

“Oh Shiro, you don’t need to thank me for anything,” Allura said. She placed a hand on his shoulder, stood on the tips of her toes, and pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for the cupcake. Would you like to share it with me?”

Shiro flushed, his heart racing. He could still feel the soft press of Allura’s lips against his cheek. “S-sure.”


	14. Ache

Shiro hadn’t meant to fall asleep. It was a late evening, and another storm had hit. A tree had been knocked over on the main road so a lot of parents couldn’t come to pick up their kids until it was removed. He’d had a lot of frazzled phone calls and equally frazzled children to deal with all morning, not to mention the _crying._ Nothing stressed him out more than seeing the kids cry.

He’d just been so _tired._ The day had started extra early for him because he’d opened the kindergarten in place of Allura (the rain had her coming late), and it was a Monday, and the kids had been rambunctious without time outdoors to expend their energy. The frigid temperatures sort of hurt his arm, though he thought it might have been a ghostly sort of pain, but it was nevertheless distracting.

Like they usually did during bad storms, the children were frightened, although they didn’t like to admit it. Shiro had joined them in the recreation room, and had quickly found himself buried under a pile of anxious kids. Even Pidge had found a place for himself under Shiro’s arm, which was unusual. Shiro guessed that he was worried about the storm and the tree.

The kids were warm. Children always seemed to run warmer than adults, and with the cold giving him shoulder pain, he’d welcomed their attention. He’d tried to focus on the movie he’d set up for them, but it was difficult when his eyes just refused to stay open.

He wasn’t the first to fall asleep, at least. It had been Hunk, who laid on the beanbag beside him, with his head on Shiro’s shoulder. Lance had followed right after him pretty quick, with his cheek squished against Shiro’s chest and his fingers clenched tightly in Keith’s shirt. Keith himself was lying beside Lance, and seemed reluctant to leave Lance alone. That left Pidge squished into the space across from them, between Shiro and Hunk, with Shiro’s arm around him. It made Pidge feel oddly small, Shiro thought. 

Still, with the kids tired and his eyes heavy, Shiro had fallen asleep. It felt like an irresponsible thing to do, and although he woke up less than an hour later, he felt awful. He was meant to watch out for the kids, not close his eyes and rest. As gently as he could, he untangled himself from the napping kids and wandered back out into the offices.

Allura was sitting at her desk. She glanced at him when he walked in. “Shiro? Finally awake.”

He flushed, and looked away. “Sorry, I didn’t meant to fall asleep.”

Allura gave him a puzzled look. “It’s alright,” she said. “I would have woken you if there was a problem. It’s been a long day.”

Anxiously, he rubbed at his shoulder. “Yeah, I guess so.” If there had been a problem, he knew Allura would have woken him, just like she said. She wouldn’t lie about something like that. He didn’t know what he was so worried over. 

“Is your arm troubling you?”

He startled at the question. He hadn’t realised he’d been making a face, and when he did, he let it fall away. “A little,” he answered hesitantly. “It’s probably nothing, just the cold weather.”

She frowned, and beckoned him closer. “Let me see.”

He hesitated for a moment before heading over to sit beside her. “It’s okay, really.”

“Show me,” she insisted.

He unzipped his jacket and let her pull down the neckline of his shirt to expose his shoulder. He’d never really let anyone see the scars he had, but if it was Allura, then he didn’t mind.

Although he was still irrationally afraid that his scarring would scare her off, deep down he knew that wouldn’t be the case.

He jumped again when her delicate fingers ran across the scars. “This looks painful,” she whispered. Her palm flattened against the back of his shoulder. “How can I make it feel better?”

“It’s okay, really,” he said again. He clenched his jacket in his hands, and tried not to flush too brightly at the feel of her hand against his skin. “It just happens sometimes.”

“I see…” She murmured, as she leaned forwards to rest her forehead against the back of his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I wish I could make it better.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered again. He’d never had anyone apologise for his pain before, and somehow it made him feel better. Allura’s affection came in all forms, it seemed. 

She wrapped her arms around his waist and let out a deep sigh. He could feel her breath warm against his back, and it made the ache in his shoulder fade a little. Sure, the pain wouldn’t ever be completely removed, but comfort from the person he liked definitely helped a lot.


	15. Royalty

At first, Shiro wouldn’t have thought that all the kids – particularly his own – would have been interested in having a tea party. It wasn’t because it was a typically feminine pastime or anything, but the kids usually seemed more interested in running around outside or playing in the sandpit. 

However, once the tiny plates and cups were brought out and set up on picnic blankets, they were _enamoured._

Allura and Shiro had spent the morning pushing the usual eating tables away from the centre of the room and stacking the chairs to clear up some space. The wide backdoors were pushed completely open, as were the windows, to let in a lot of light and the cool, afternoon breeze. It had been Allura’s idea to set up the tea parties – they had heaps of picnic blankets in the storeroom as well as miniature utensils, enough for everyone. Coran was already busy making tiny sandwiches and jars of iced tea to pass around.

His little group of kids claimed a picnic blanket for themselves, once everything had been set up. It was amazing to see how patient they became when they wanted something; they sat quietly and didn’t disturb either Shiro or Allura as they fixed up enough spaces for all the kids. 

“Shiro!” Lance called, when Shiro started to hand out food to the excited children. “Shiro, you have to sit with us! We saved you a spot.”

He laughed. “Alright, I will,” he said. He hadn’t expected to sit anywhere else, after all. “Just give me a minute to hand out the food to everyone, yeah?”

“Okay!”

“They’re behaving well,” Allura remarked, as she wandered past Shiro. She had little teapots from the crockery sets filled with iced tea that Coran had made, ready to give to each group of kids. “Can I join you boys today?”

Shiro’s eyes widened. He had barely choked out an enthusiastic _yes_ when Pidge suddenly cried, “Mr Shiro, invite Miss Allura on a date with us!”

She grinned. “I’ll be right over, boys!”

If the floor were to suddenly open up, Shiro probably would have been relieved. How could he get any more embarrassed than he was now? God, who had even taught the children that? He bet it was Lance. It seemed like a Lance thing to say.

After placing down the last tray of sandwiches, Shiro went over to join his kids on the blanket. It kind of hurt his legs to sit on the ground for so long, but it was tolerable. “You guys can’t embarrass me like that,” he whispered, hunching down to their level. “Not in front of Allura!”

Lance just grinned at him. “You _like_ her,” he said.

“Obviously he does,” Keith snorted. “That’s why Allura is the Princess and Shiro is the Knight.”

“What?” Shiro wheezed, eyes wide. “What have you guys been playing?”

Lance shushed him as Allura approached. “Allura! Are you going to be sitting with us?”

“Yes, I am,” she chuckled. She had the last teapot in her hands, and after taking a seat she went around and slowly filled everyone’s tiny cups, even Shiro’s. “Are we going to eat?”

“The Princess has to eat first,” Lance said. The others nodded in agreement, like they’d planned this. Shiro wouldn’t have been surprised if they had.

Allura raised her eyebrows. “Princess?”

“You’re the Princess,” Pidge informed her, as he held out the sandwich tray. “Mr Shiro is your Knight.”

Allura’s grin widened. “Oh, is he now?”

“Yeah!” Lance said. “He was going to be the Dragon, but now Keith is the Dragon.”

“And what does that make you?”

“The treasure, of course!”

Shiro muffled a laugh into his hand. “I see,” he said. Would it hurt to play along? “What about you, Hunk? What are you?”

“The wizard!” Hunk smiled. 

“And Pidge?”

“I’m the narrator, of course,” Pidge said.

“I’m impressed,” Shiro said. That was a big word for Pidge to have learned all by himself. “You’ve got this all figured out, huh?”

Allura seemed amused by it all. She probably wasn’t as used to the kids’ antics as Shiro was, especially considering how much they liked to tease Shiro when her back was turned. “But what if Lance was the Princess, instead?”

Lance let out a curiously happy noise. “I can totally be the Princess!”

“Then I’m the Knight!” Keith rushed to say, reaching out to grip Lance’s arm. “I’m the Knight.”

Shiro chuckled. He’d been kicked out of his own role, but he found he didn’t mind too much. “If Lance is the Princess and Keith is the Knight, then what does that make Allura and me?”

Allura laughed, and Shiro found his gaze drawn to her. “That’s a silly question!” She said, as she linked their arms and leaned into his side. She blinked up at him owlishly, her cheeks as bright as her smile. “Obviously we’re the King and Queen.”


	16. Intelligence

As far as education went, Shiro thought his kids were pretty smart. They each had their strengths and weaknesses, of course, but some proud part of him thought that they were among the more intelligent bunch, even if they had their silly moments.

(Most of those silly moments were Lance’s fault.)

Pidge was perhaps the smartest of Shiro’s little group, intelligence wise. He was exceptionally good at maths and problem solving, and seemed really keen on drawing things like schematics and blue prints, even if they still pertained a childish nature. He was good at taking things apart and putting them back together (like the television remote, and then a couple of the little robotic toys from the rewards chest, and then the _radio from the office room)._

Behind him, intelligence wise, was probably Hunk. He was good at maths too, and was interested in how things were made. He liked to help out his father in the garage, and Shiro was always told that Hunk would be a great mechanic or engineer, when he happened to have a conversation with one of Hunk’s family members. He believed it. Hunk’s sweet demeanour made him a pleasure to teach, too.

Lance was a little more problematic. He was easily distracted and quick to shout out, and despite his smarts, his behaviour was an issue. When he was focused, however, he usually got all of the answers right and was quick to solve the more difficult problems. He wasn’t as good at maths as Pidge and Hunk, but he was still pretty handy at it, and he had a lot of potential. Shiro secretly thought he had the most potential out of all of the kids.

Keith was perhaps the one that struggled the most out of the four. While he was incredibly intelligent, it often took him a moment longer to work through things, but that wasn’t because he was average in his smarts. Rather, he seemed to simply analyse every question from every angle, instead of going for the most obvious (and most often correct) option. For trick questions it worked a charm and he never got them wrong. Shiro was definitely sure that with the older Keith became, the faster his analytical skills would improve.

Overall, they were a pretty smart bunch of kids. Shiro sometimes struggled to keep up with them, just because of their energy and the way they powered through work. He had no doubt that they would pass all their classes with flying colours, and would probably do great things at university and in their careers.

Thinking about them leaving the kindergarten did make him a little sad though. He would miss them a lot when they weren’t around, and really hoped that their parent’s didn’t mind if he stayed in contact with them. He’d be excited to see where they’d go after school, but thinking about them leaving… He’d probably cry. 

He’d _definitely_ cry.


	17. Swing

There was a swing set in the backyard of Altea Kindergarten. It had two swings, and was sturdy enough to withstand the weight of an adult and the rough play of a whole class of children. Shiro quite liked the swing – it was under the shade of a cover that sheltered the play equipment from the sun, and it wasn’t uncomfortable for even someone as big as him to use. 

It was at the end of a particularly long day that he found Allura sitting on the swing. She wasn’t swinging much, and her eyes were downcast. The woodchips beneath the swing had been worn clear by the children over time, and she moved around the stray chips with the toe of her shoe. She’d been unusually quiet all day, and he hadn’t found a time to see if she was alright until all the children had been taken home and all the cleaning had been finished.

He sat on the swing beside her, but he didn’t swing either. “Are you alright?”

Usually, when someone spoke, Allura met their eyes. It had startled Shiro at first, and it had taken him a while to get used to her piercing, blue stare, but she didn’t look away from her shoes. Instead, she only shrugged.

Shiro frowned. He stood, and stepped behind Allura’s swing. As gently as he could, he placed his palms flat against her back and pushed. Obligingly, she lifted her feet and let the swing move. “Want to talk about it?” He asked.

She sighed. It was a defeated sound. “It’s my mother’s birthday tomorrow,” she said quietly. “And my father won’t be in the city.”

“Oh.” While Shiro wasn’t exactly aware of all the details, he knew that Allura’s mother had died when she was young, but that they had been very close. Since then, Allura and Alfor had celebrated her mother’s birthday together, every single year. He thought it might have been for a way for Allura to cope.

She shrugged again. “I know he can’t be with me all the time, but…”

“Allura, it’s okay,” Shiro said, as he held the chains of the swing to still it. “You don’t need to make any excuses for how you feel. It’s okay.”

She hunched her shoulders. Shiro could hear her sniffle, and it pulled at his heart. He almost jumped when Allura suddenly stood, and let out a quiet noise when she turned to bury her face in his chest. She was soft, and warm, but all Shiro could focus on were her trembling shoulders and her small cries. He’d never seen Allura act vulnerable, but in that moment she was.

“It’ll be alright,” he said. When her arms slipped around his waist, he couldn’t help but mimic the action. Her hair was thick and wavy underneath his hand when he lifted it to hold the back of her head. Their height difference hadn’t ever felt more apparent.

After a while, her trembles disappeared, and she stopped crying. She seemed like she was about to huff out an apology, but Shiro’s gentle hand on her back quietened her. He didn’t want her to apologise for crying in front of him, or for being upset. There was nothing to apologise for. Absentmindedly, he brushed hair away from her forehead and placed a kiss there. He almost jerked away from her when he’d realised what he’d done, but it made her giggle, so he hid his flushed face in her hair and tried not to smile.

If he could hold her like that forever, he’d never need anything else.


	18. Pining

One afternoon, Shiro and Allura set out the craft tables. It was a slow afternoon, but not an unpleasant one, and Shiro spent most of it sitting at the table with his little group of kids. The tabletop was covered in paper and glitter and an entire assortment of pompoms, and while Shiro knew it would be hell to clean later, he found he didn’t particularly mind.

Pidge was busy drawing his schematics, like usual, when he suddenly spoke. “Mr Shiro, you like Miss Allura, right? _Like_ like her.”

Shiro spluttered, and accidentally dropped the pencil he was holding in surprise. After picking it up and putting it back on the table, he gave Pidge and apprehensive look. “I do,” he said, voice quiet, as he leaned closer. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“Very obvious,” Hunk agreed. 

Shiro pursed his lips. He was embarrassed that his attraction to Allura was so obvious, even to the children, but he didn’t exactly do anything to hide it in the first place. He got way too flustered around her, didn’t he? He could hardly ever keep his cool. It definitely wasn’t like him. “Why do you ask?”

Pidge grinned. He had a glint in his eyes that promised nothing but mischief. “Why aren’t you and Miss Allura _dating,_ then?”

“W-well,” Shiro coughed, “I don’t know if she likes me back or not.”

“She totally does!” Lance exclaimed, eyes wide and bright. “Totally, totally!”

Shiro chuckled quietly. However embarrassing the topic of the conversation was, Lance’s enthusiasm always lifted his spirits. “Still…”

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” Pidge asked. “That seems like the easiest way to find out if she likes you back.”

It was strange how mature Pidge could be sometimes. Shiro gave him another unimpressed look, and sighed. It seemed like such a simple thing to do when a kid put it like that, but he didn’t think he could actually do it. He’d been in relationships before, sure, but none of them had every really meant as much as his friendship with Allura did, and evidently none of them had ever really gone anywhere. As it was, he was content to just be around Allura. He got to see her smile and laugh everyday – what more could he wish for?

Lance hummed to himself, a thoughtful look on his face. “Everything is hard when you’re an adult, huh? Shiro, I don’t want to grow up anymore.”

Shiro laughed again. “I don’t think you get a choice, buddy.”

Lance huffed.

“But if you like her, and she likes you, why don’t you go on a date?” Keith asked. He had a puzzled look on his face, like he simply couldn’t work out what the problem at hand was. 

“It’s not that easy,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’re co-workers, and she’s so… so…”

“So?”

“So wonderful,” Shiro sighed. “And she’s out of my league.”

Keith frowned. “What does that mean?”

Shiro flushed. Why was he even trying to explain this to children? “It means she deserves the best,” he finally said. He didn’t think he really deserved to be with someone like Allura, no matter how much he liked her. Did she really like him back? He kind of hoped he did, just so he’d have a chance. She seemed to, didn’t she? Or was he just bad at reading her signals? He was kind of like damaged goods, wasn’t he? 

“I know!” Lance suddenly said, as he whipped around to face Keith. “How about we just ask Allura out for Shiro, instead?”

“No!” Shiro spluttered, eyes going wide. “Don’t do that, Lance!”

“Why not?” Lance pouted. “If you don’t, then we will for you!”

The others nodded in agreement, and Shiro groaned. He knew they definitely would, too. “Fine, fine, I’ll do it,” he said. Maybe if he waited for long enough, they’d forget all about this conversation and he could go back to pining in peace.


	19. Conversation

The kids had gotten paint on their jackets again. Shiro wasn’t particularly surprised – it happened quite often, especially if Keith and Lance were involved. Shiro still wasn’t really that good at cleaning away paint stains, so Allura often helped him, like she did that day. 

“I can’t believe how easily they get their clothes dirty,” she remarked as she scrubbed out a particularly large blot of red paint from Lance’s jacket. “Did they drag Hunk and Pidge into their war, too?”

It had been Keith and Lance to start the little argument, of course. They’d both been giggling in the end, their hands and face covered in paint. It hadn’t been spiteful, or really even all that argumentative. Somehow Hunk and Pidge had, in fact, gotten involved, and it had taken Allura and Shiro at least half an hour to clean the paint off of the four of them.

“They did,” Shiro said, laughing quietly. “I’m sorry about all the mess.”

“It’s alright,” Allura said, laughing too. “Kids are messy, aren’t they?”

“They certainly can be.”

Allura laughed again. It was a sound that made Shiro’s heart flutter. How could someone’s laugh be so _pretty?_ Everything about Allura was pretty, but her laughter had to be one of her most standout qualities (aside from her smile and her eyes, of course). He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he listened to her laughter. 

“Keith and Lance have been acting kind of differently though, don’t you think? Especially this week,” Allura said.

“Have they?” Shiro asked. 

She nodded. “They’re very sweet to each other.”

Shiro hummed thoughtfully. He was around the kids too much to really notice, but if Allura said they were different, then they probably were. “What have you been noticing?”

Allura smiled to herself. “I think they just get along a lot better now. They’ve stopped fighting for your attention now that they know you give it to them completely equally.”

“Do I?”

She nodded again. “A lot of their pointless rivalries have been resolved. They’re much better friends, now. You know I overheard them arguing about their future wedding, yesterday? Imagine that!”

“W-wedding? What were they talking about?” The only thing that had really happened that week was when they’d talked to him about dating Allura. They couldn’t have possibly remembered that conversation, right? Knowing them, they probably remembered every word. 

“Colours, mostly,” she said. “Blue and red, of course. But they were mostly talking about dating. Do you think someone they know is going to ask their crush out on a date? Lance has several older siblings, right? Wouldn’t it be cute if they helped out?”

Shiro flushed. _Oh, God._ “You think?”

“Of course! Who wouldn’t love those two? They’re good kids.”

“That’s true,” Shiro agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wonder what they’re up to.” _Though I’m pretty sure I already know._

Allura just smiled to herself. It was a knowing kind of look she had on her face, one that made Shiro a little suspicious of what Keith and Lance had been talking about. He almost jumped out of his skin when Allura unexpectedly leaned against his side, but he didn’t pull away. 

“I hope whoever they were talking about works out well,” Allura said quietly. When Shiro glanced at her, she had a very soft look in her eyes, and her cheeks had turned very faintly red. At his gaze, her eyes flickered up to his, inquisitive.

He jumped, and flushed again, before setting his eyes firmly ahead. “Me too.”


	20. Confession

One of the kid’s favourite games to play was hide and seek. They were quite good at it, especially when Coran gave them tips about the best hiding spots. Shiro hadn’t really played it since he was a young child, and he was a bit too big to really hide effectively anymore, but it was still fun. He never really protested much when Keith and Lance dragged him into the game with the rest of the children and, more often than not, Allura too.

Perhaps he should have. Protest, that is. Maybe just a little bit.

Usually, when he played hide and seek, Shiro was assigned to a group with his kids. There weren’t really any groups in hide and seek, but the kids liked to stick with their friends anyway, and unless they were doing the seeking there was a good chance a whole bunch of them were hidden in the same spot. 

This time, however, he found himself hiding with Allura. Oddly enough, it had been her idea – she’d grabbed him by the wrist when it was Keith and Lance’s turn to count and dragged him through the building with an excited gleam in her eyes. It wasn’t that strange for them to hide in the same room, but that was usually with the kids involved. 

The kids weren’t involved this time, though. Allura seemed determined to win, and even though dragging Shiro along was certainly counterproductive to that, she was insistent. “We’re going to last this time, Shiro!” She said, laughing to herself. “We can’t let the kids upstage us all the time, you know?”

He laughed too. He didn’t think that was possible, but her excitement was contagious. “Where we are going to hide?” He asked. From the other side of the building he heard Keith and Lance call out the final number in their countdown; they’d probably rushed it.

“Ah, let’s go in here!” Allura exclaimed, as she hurriedly pulled open the door of their supply closet to push Shiro in. He stumbled over his feet, surprised by the quick change in direction, and quickly had to catch himself on the shelves to stop himself from hitting the floor.

Abruptly, Allura tripped over him. It happened faster than Shiro could keep up with, and before he knew it, he had a lapful of the most beautiful woman on Earth. He felt his breath get caught in his throat, and his hands twitched without anywhere to go. He wanted to hold her waist, and meet her eyes, but he was far too flustered.

“S-sorry!” Allura said, putting her hands on Shiro’s chest to sit upright. Her knees were on either side of Shiro’s hips, and they were so close that he could feel every soft curve of her stomach and chest. The higher she tried to sit, the closer their faces became. “I’m sorry, are you hurt?”

“N-no,” Shiro coughed to clear his throat, “no, I’m fine. Are you alright.”

She glanced at her right knee, and Shiro followed her gaze. It seemed like she’d grazed her knee on the floor, though it wasn’t bleeding. “I’m alright,” she said.

“The kids say I’m the best at fixing scraped knees,” he offered tentatively.

She grinned, and teasingly leaned a little closer. “Oh? I’ll have to test that out for myself, then,” she said.

Her eyes looked really blue close up. Really, _really_ blue. Shiro had never seen eyes like that, especially not eyes with such thick lashes and a pretty shape. Could eye shapes even be pretty? Looking at Allura’s, he suddenly thought they were.

“You know, I was talking with Lance the other evening,” Allura said.

“Sounds dangerous.”

She chuckled, and shifted a bit to relax her shoulders and rest her chin on her folded hands, of which still rested on Shiro’s chest. She peered up at him with those big, alluring eyes and he felt captivated. “Quite dangerous,” she agreed.

He cracked a small, flustered smile. “What did you talk about?”

She tilted her head, just a little, and hummed. “His wedding to Keith, mostly. I had to inform him that to marry someone, he had to date them first. He seemed quite excited!”

“Did he, now?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “He asked me how he was supposed to get Keith to date him.”

“O-oh?”

She hummed again. 

“What did you tell him?”

“Well, you have to like someone a lot to date them,” she started. “And you have to ask them on dates, and spend time with them… You have to ask them to be your boyfriend or girlfriend, too, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

“He asked me how,” she continued, staring up at him purposefully, “so I told him that he should look into their eyes and say, with conviction,” she leaned up a little more, _“I like you.”_

His eyes widened. She was so close he could feel the warmth of her breath against his lips. His heart was definitely caught in his throat. “If that’s true,” he said, “they’d probably say _I like you too.”_


	21. Pinkie

Sometimes, the night descended really quickly. It wasn’t as though there were any thick clouds – though clouds were often a contributing factor – or that the moon rose any faster than usual, but the day had been particularly atmospheric, and Shiro could taste impending rain on the air. It was strange for the children to be quiet, and for nothing but the wind to disturb the building, but some days were simply like that.

For what it was worth, Shiro enjoyed them. The quietness soothed his nerves and drained the tension from his shoulders. On days like that his arm hurt less, and he could almost believe his accident had been nothing more than a bad dream. He knew a night of good rest awaited him, and that the sound of rain would lull him to sleep. Days like those were good days, days that were better than usual. They were a good way for him to gather his thoughts, and his wits. They were a good way to centre himself.

That evening, after a day filled with a surprising amount of peace, Shiro found himself alone with Allura. He’d spent the day watching his kids nap amongst one another and teaching them through enjoyable lessons, and although he wasn’t tired, he was looking forward to sleeping. He was in no rush to leave the building though, and instead was content to take his time.

It started raining as they locked the front doors. Water pitter-pattered across the awning of the covered entryway, and for a moment, he stood side-by-side with Allura to watch the sky grow darker. It was a quiet, gentle moment, one he did not feel the need to break with talking. Instead, he took a moment to think, even if just briefly.

Allura really was beautiful. She stood with grace and strength unlike anyone else. She was courageous and kind-hearted, confident and humble, gentle and sure of herself. She had a serious demeanour, one that might have scared off others, but Shiro knew better. He knew firsthand just how playful her personality could be, how cheerful and uplifting. There were so many things about her that he admired that he didn’t think he’d ever be able to list them all. Of course, there were other things, things that not everyone saw about her.

Like how she sometimes fumbled when disciplining the children, fearing she had gone too far. Or when she frowned at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, touching the marks under her eyes like she was trying to rub them away. Or even when she forced herself to hold back, to avoid socialising, because she could sometimes be too nosy and she sometimes tried to fix people’s problems that weren’t hers to fix.

She wasn’t perfect, but she was as close to it as Shiro had ever seen. Allura was just… human. She was real and honest and he’d fallen for her hard, hadn’t he?

That’s why he’d said what he’d said the other day, when they were stuck cramped in the supply closet. He wasn’t too flustered to know exactly what Allura had been saying – she’d really had to spell it out for him, huh? Just thinking about it made him smile. It wasn’t a bad thing.

He almost didn’t want to leave Altea Kindergarten. Just standing beside Allura made his heart pleasantly warm. 

Even more so when her hand inched across the space between them. He almost jumped, and if he hadn’t been so calm then he might of, but instead he simply enjoyed the feeling of her linking her pinkie with his.


	22. Dance

During the school holidays, Altea Kindergarten became a day care. Most parents still worked even while school was out, so the kindergarten was a good place to send their young children if no one else could watch over for them during the day. Twice a week they’d take the kids out to the local park for lunch, and every Wednesday there’d be an excursion to some sort of place where they could all have fun. 

Some afternoons, when the kids had had too much sugar throughout the day, they liked to have dance parties in the recreation room. There was a decent stereo in there, and Allura had a surprising amount of pop music CDs from their childhood that the kids enjoyed listening to. 

That’s what they were doing that afternoon – after a day full of activities, the kids had all but demanded that Allura put on her CDs and dance with them. Shiro wasn’t much of a dancer, but Allura was. She was pretty athletic anyway, so it only seemed fitting that she should know her way around the dancefloor, or the recreation room in this case. She swayed her hips and sung along and danced in circles with her fingers wrapped securely around the children’s hands.

The only one who didn’t really like to dance was Pidge, which Shiro didn’t find that surprisingly. When he sat to the side after pulling a chair down from the stack where they’d been left to clear some space, Pidge came to join him. Shiro lifted Pidge onto his lap to peer at the little toy Pidge was taking apart and putting back together before they watched everyone else dance. 

Watching Keith and Lance dance together was amusing. They were both awkward at it, Keith considerably more so, though Lance did seem to have some sort of rhythm to him. Shiro was distinctly reminded that he had older siblings and a big, Cuban family filled with eccentric people – they probably danced and sang very frequently, and there was no doubt in his mind that Lance would grow up to be very good at it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to dance?” Shiro asked, peering at Pidge inquisitively.

Pidge shook his head. “I’m fine here,” he said.

Shiro smiled, laughing quietly. Pidge did seem rather content with himself. With all the time Shiro had to dedicate to keeping Keith and Lance civil, he guessed that he did put Pidge on the backburner. It was nice to spend one-on-one time with the kids sometimes, just to see how they were going and if they needed anything specific. Pidge was one of the quieter kids, too, and seeing what he really thought was a feat only managed when everything was quiet and Pidge was completely comfortable. Shiro was glad that Pidge liked him enough to sit with him instead of dancing with all the other kids.

Besides, Shiro thought he might really faint if he danced with Allura. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as it was, let alone if he was right there with her hips in his hands and her eyes on him. There was no way he could go through that without getting flustered and live to tell the tale.


	23. Argue

Keith and Lance were arguing.

On an average day, that wasn’t so out of place. They constantly bickered and were always trying to outdo the other any way they could. Their competitiveness was quite astounding, and if Shiro were being honest, he sort of expected it as a part of their everyday life now.

But this was different. They were _arguing._

He doesn’t know what caused it. They’d been getting along so well lately that it was completely unexpected, and he couldn’t figure out how to fix it. The two of them had completely stopped talking with each other and just about refused to even be in the same room. He’d never seen them both so miserable, and it made his heart twist.

“Just talk to them,” Allura said, as she put her arm around his waist. He almost jumped at her presence, but instead leaned into her side. He’d been watching Keith and Lance make themselves more and more upset all morning, and while he didn’t want to interfere with something they could certainly work out between themselves, he thought that maybe it had gone on for long enough.

“I think I will,” he said, as he inhaled deeply. “Can’t hurt, right?”

She laughed a little, and squeezed his waist once. It was oddly comforting, and for a moment Shiro felt like he was the upset one, and not the children. Still, the lingering warmth of Allura’s hand on his waist made him feel better.

He approached Keith first, knowing that Keith brooded over these things more than Lance did. He found Keith curled up on one of the huge beanbags in the recreation room, and with a sigh he realised it was the same beanbag they always shared. As carefully as he could, he made room for himself on it, ignoring Keith’s disgruntled noises.

“You alright, buddy?”

Keith made a small, mumbling noise, and curled further into himself. He had his back to Shiro, and his shoulders hunched. He really was upset.

“Want to talk about it?” Shiro offered.

Keith rolled over, and shook his head. “Lance is being stupid,” he mumbled. He looked like he was on the verge of tears, and it made Shiro’s heart twist again. 

“How about you talk to him about it?” Shiro said. “I know Lance is upset, too.”

Keith frowned, hesitating. “Will you come with me?”

Shiro gave him a small smile. “If you want me to.”

Keith nodded.

“Alright,” Shiro said, standing. He offered Keith his hand. “Come on, let’s go then.”

Keith took his hand, and together they went to go find Lance. He was sitting in the dining hall, his legs drawn up onto the chair and his arms wrapped tightly around his blue lion toy. He looked positively miserable on his own. It really was a strange sight to see him without Keith.

Shiro glanced down at Keith when he felt Keith’s hand tighten around his fingers. He nudged Keith forwards, and tried not to think about how nervous Keith suddenly looked. “Lance,” Shiro said, drawing his attention, “want to talk about it?”

Lance glanced up at him, eyes wide, before turning his head away with a dramatic huff. He looked just as teary-eyed as Keith did. 

Shiro sighed. He led Keith by the hand over to the table and sat him down on the seat beside Lance. “Talk about it, alright?” He said, glancing between them purposefully. “I’ll be back in ten minutes. No more sad faces around here, okay?”

They gave him solemn nods.

He left them to themselves after that, and wandered back to sit in the office with Allura. She gave him an inquisitive look as all but threw himself down into his chair. “They’re talking,” he said. “I think. I wonder what they argued about.”

Allura shrugged, and spun around in her chair to face him. “I don’t know, I didn’t notice them arguing until they suddenly stormed away from each other. I’m sure they’ll be fine, Shiro.”

“I know, I know,” he said, smiling a little. “They always are, aren’t they?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested by rigidrose on tumblr! I do take suggestions for fics, including this one, so if you ever have any feel free to drop them over at my [tumblr](http://milkteamiku.tumblr.com/) ^^


	24. Halloween

Shiro had never really celebrated Halloween. When he was younger he hadn’t minded going to parties and letting his friends dress him up in costumes to match theirs, but as he had gotten older he’d kind of stopped doing anything other than having a scary movie marathon at home.

Working at the kindergarten, however, meant that a Halloween party was in order. Shiro come across Allura and Coran discussing it earlier that week, and although he wasn’t a big Halloween fan, their excitement was infectious. It seemed like they had a Halloween party every year, and all the kids and their parents were invited. It was a community event that everyone enjoyed.

First on the list of things to do was food. Coran was usually in charge of anything edible in the kindergarten, and he could really go all out with his crazy ideas for Halloween. Shiro helped him carry in produce they had ordered as well as shopping bags full of pre-bought snacks from Coran’s car. There was more food than Shiro had imagined, and most of it seemed sickeningly sweet – perfect for children. He was a little relieved to see fruit mixed in with it all.

After the food had been brought in, Shiro was promptly kicked out of the kitchen. He only laughed at Coran’s enthusiasm and went to help Allura with the decorations, instead.

She’d gone all out with her ideas, too. There were fake spider webs and jars with witch silhouettes lit up by lights and pumpkins stacked on top of one another. String lights hung from every wall with patterned banners, creepy-but-cute pictures of werewolves and vampires, and bat stickers. Ghosts made out of cloth with felt faces dangled from the ceiling and peeked out from behind books on shelves and cabinets. There was patterned table runners and cups and plates, too. Everything was orange and black and purple; fitting for Halloween, he thought. Allura had done really well.

Once everything had been set up and there was no more to do, Allura turned to Shiro. “Do you have a costume?” She asked, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

Shiro gave her a puzzled look. “No, I didn’t know I had to dress up...”

“Perfect!” Allura exclaimed. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took some liberties and got you one to wear in case you didn’t.”

“Y-you did?”

“Yes! Hold on, it’s in my car. You have to wear it, okay? Promise me!”

“But what is it?” Shiro asked, flushing as Allura leaned in closer and held up her pinkie.

“It’s a surprise!” She said, laughing. “Now promise me.”

He sighed. He couldn’t say no to her. “Alright…”

 

It was only after he’d gotten home to change for the party that Shiro had a proper look at the costume Allura had given him. He’d worried that it wouldn’t fit him, especially not with his arm and how it tended to make some clothes appear awkward, but Allura had assured him that it would be perfect. He didn’t know how she knew his sizes, but she was pretty fashionable, wasn’t she?

Besides, he had to wear it. He’d promised. _Pinkie_ promised. He’d spent enough time around children to know that pinkie promises were as tight as promises could get.

When he finally did get a look at the costume, he was suddenly way too embarrassed to even think about wearing it. _Allura_ had chosen _that_ for _him?_

It was a Prince costume. At least, that’s what he thought it was – maybe it was from a Disney movie, or something, he didn’t know. All he did know was that it did, in fact, fit surprisingly well, and that he felt ridiculous in it. There were so many parts to it that it took him quite a while to even get it on, but in the end he thought he looked… okay. He hadn’t put the white gloves on and he’d only briefly brushed his hair, but it didn’t really matter how he looked as long as everyone else enjoyed themselves, right? 

He arrived back at the kindergarten just before the party was scheduled to begin. He caught sight of Coran in the kitchen, and couldn’t help but laugh at the costume Coran was wearing. “A pumpkin, Coran?”

“Oh, Prince Shiro!” Coran peered out through the kitchen doorway, smiling broadly. “That costume suits you will! Allura with be pleased.”

He flushed, and gave Coran a thankful smile. “Is she here yet?”

“Yes, she’s just in the office.”

He nodded, and wandered over to the office. The door was closed, so he knocked once, before pushing it open. “Allura? Coran said you were- ah!”

Allura blinked at him, eyes wide and surprised. She had a dress half pulled on, but the side zipper was undone, exposing a good portion of her stomach and her bra. She had her hair pinned up, exposing the length of her neck and her shoulders. _W-whoa…_

Shiro felt his face heat up. “S-sorry!” He exclaimed, before slamming the door shut. He whipped around to face the kitchen, and pressed his hand to his forehead. “Coran! Why didn’t you tell me she was changing?”

Coran only laughed. It sounded oddly more like a cackle than anything else. 

He shook his head, and escaped into the dining room. The decorations looked just as atmospheric as they had before, and seeing something familiar soothed his nerves. God, he couldn’t get the image of Allura out of his head. How could a person be so beautiful, inside and out? Her lacy bra was pretty, too.

_No, we’re not going there. Get a grip, Shiro!_

He sucked in a deep breath, and took a moment to compose himself. It had been an accident. He was an adult. Besides, Allura already knew he liked her, right? And she liked him too… At least, he thought so. The more he thought about it the more flustered he became. 

“You’re not wearing the gloves.”

He jumped at the sound of Allura’s voice, and gave her a strained smile. The gloves were tucked away safely in his pocket, so he pulled them out, and glanced down at his hands. “They’re a bit hard to get on with…”

“Here, I’ll help,” Allura said.

She was dressed as a princess. Her dress was blue and puffy around the waist, and he could see she was wearing matching heels with little ribbons. There was a tiara in her hair, most of which she’d pulled up and wrapped in some sort of braid. She had makeup on her face – pretty eyeliner that he’d seen her do once or twice and pink powder on her cheeks – and it made her eyes seem really bright and shiny. 

She looked beautiful.

“I guess these would be a bit difficult to get on,” she said, as she took the gloves. “They feel a little flimsy, huh?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, nodding dumbly. “I was worried they’d tear in the joints, or that I wouldn’t be able to grip the other one properly if I put one on my prosthetic first…”

“Good thing I’m here, then!” She grinned. Without any hesitation she grabbed him by his prosthetic hand and wiggled the glove on over his fingers. He winced when it did inevitably get caught on the metal joints, but she didn’t seem fussed at all. She did the other glove too, before stepping back to give him a critical look. She reached up a hand to smooth his hair back away from his forehead before grinning. “All done! Do you like the costume?”

He laughed. He wouldn’t have worn it if he didn’t like it. Realising that he was the Prince and she was the Princess was probably the best thing to happen to him that month. “I do,” he said. “Does it look okay?”

Her grin widened. “Looks perfect.”

 

The party went off without a hitch. All of the children and their friends came dressed up, and even some parents, too. Shiro’s little group of kids looked really good – Keith and Lance were the Red and Blue pilots they had action figures of, and Pidge and Hunk were engineers, complete with rolled up blueprints and little plastic wrenches. They looked fantastic and enjoyed themselves probably more than anyone.

Anyone other than Shiro, perhaps. He “escorted” Allura around to greet everyone, her hand on the inside of his elbow. They looked like a matching pair in their costumes, and nothing anyone could say could make the delighted little smile on his face leave. He was escorting the princess of the ball, wasn’t he? And she wouldn’t stop smiling at him. It didn’t matter than the ball was covered in spider webs and ghosts.

He was just glad to be close to Allura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween to those who celebrate ^^


	25. Jealous

Lance was a pretty social kid. He made friends quite easily and got along with pretty much everyone, and there wasn’t ever really a child that particularly disliked him (except for Keith, sometimes, but did that really count? Shiro wasn’t so sure). 

In either case, Lance was really friendly. He was the social butterfly of the class, the one everyone could talk to if their friend was away or if they were lonely. Lance hardly ever said no to playing with someone if they asked – the only thing was that they usually didn’t, because he had Keith with him. 

And Keith certainly wasn’t social. He interacted with Lance all day, sure, and Hunk and Pidge as well, but other than that he didn’t really like to make friends. He didn’t mind interacting with the other children and wasn’t exactly opposed to it, but if Lance was around then he certainly had a preference. 

Sometimes, Shiro worried about Keith and what would happen to him if he and Lance became separated. What if they went to different schools, or if one moved to another city? It was a very real possibility, and although Shiro knew Lance could fit in at other schools, he wasn’t so sure about Keith. 

At times, Shiro noticed that Keith could get a little… _possessive_ of Lance’s attention. When Lance talked with other children Keith was always hovering behind him, or glaring from across the room at whoever dared to take his friend away. He always pandered after Lance’s attention, always wanted to be with him and talk with him and play with him. For the most part, Lance reciprocated it – the only problem was that Lance had enough room in him for other people, and Keith didn’t seem to.

When Lance figured that out, however, he started to take advantage of it. Shiro didn’t think any of Lance’s actions were intentional, for the most part, but sometimes he wondered. Lance was clearly aware that Keith was attached to him, just as he was to Keith, and like all friends they did fight sometimes…

It was after one of their little spats that Shiro thought Lance was intentionally trying to make Keith jealous. Lance joked around and laughed with the other kids, quite loudly and honestly, and even if his laughter lacked its usual vigour it was still quite impossible to ignore. 

The entire situation just meant that Keith was miserable and Lance was missing his friend.

Shiro was not pleased. He watched it all happen with a frown on his face before finally decided to pull Lance to the side. He wouldn’t let this situation go on for any longer. 

Lance was pouting furiously when Shiro set him down at the dining table. “You can’t be acting so childishly, Lance,” Shiro said gently, his hands on Lance’s shoulders. “I know you don’t really want to upset Keith, but you know how he is. You two have to try and be nicer to each other.”

“I know,” Lance mumbled. He seemed to deflate, and gave Shiro a wide, worried look. “But Keith is always mean and he doesn’t like to play with anyone else.”

Shiro sighed, and offered Lance a comforting smile. “Keith isn’t like you, Lance. Making friends isn’t as easy for him. He likes to just keep the ones he has, and that includes you. You shouldn’t tease him too much, okay? You’ll make him sad.”

“Okay,” Lance nodded, “I guess I was being mean… I should apologise to him.”

“Good idea,” Shiro smiled wider this time, and stood. “I’m proud of you, Lance. You’re all grown up, huh?”

Lance grinned broadly, showing off his little dimples, before he darted off to find Keith. Even if Keith became jealous sometimes, Lance would always return to him. 

That was one thing Shiro was utterly sure about.


	26. Dog

One day, a stray dog wandered into the kindergarten’s backyard. Shiro wasn’t sure how it got through the fence, but it was just a small thing, and was probably little enough to slip between the bars of the back gate. As Allura and Coran rounded up the children to take them safely indoors, he was the one left to befriend and leash the dog. That hadn’t taken too long, surprisingly – he was pretty sure the dog had been well trained.

It was a pretty friendly thing, too. It didn’t bark or growl or bite, or even nip at his fingers when he picked it up and carried it to a safer place in the front yard. He wasn’t too concerned about it; the dog looked young, was very clean and well-mannered, and even had a shiny collar clipped around its neck. Besides, the only reason he’d noticed the dog at all was because his group of kids had found it first, and were rather enthusiastic about playing with it, though they were careful not to get too close or be too rough.

Oddly enough, the dog liked Keith the best. Keith seemed very comfortable around it, too. Maybe he had a dog at home, or knew someone who owned a dog he regularly interacted with, but either way, he certainly had no fear of it. Lance was pretty much the same, though Shiro had always pegged him more as a cat person than a dog person. Maybe he just liked whatever Keith liked. That seemed like a pretty reasonable explanation, all things considering with those two.

Pidge and Hunk had been more apprehensive about the whole ordeal. Pidge wasn’t pretty impassive towards the dog, and Hunk was worried that it would bite or jump or lick him. It was a pretty friendly animal and did none of those things, of course, but Hunk was still responsible about it and had gone to fetch Shiro straight away. After that, he’d bundled the dog away, contacted its owner, and that had been that. Naturally, the kids pressed against the nearest window they could find to watch the puppy play with a stray tennis ball in the yard.

In the end the dog’s owner had arrived an hour later – their name and phone number had been engraved onto the back of the dog’s tag – to take the puppy back home. Thankfully, she let the kids pet him once last time. Shiro was pretty sure they would have burst into tears and sulked all afternoon if they weren’t allowed to say goodbye to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something a little short because I felt bad about not writing any Voltron that was ready to be posted today aha ^^"


	27. Clean

“Chin up, there’s always next time,” Shiro said, trying not to laugh at Keith’s absolutely scandalised expression. “Go and get the broom.”

At the end of each day when arts and crafts was the last activity they did, Shiro got the children to help him clean. The floors needed to be swept, the pencils needed to be sorted, and all the bits of paper and glitter and random other little things had to be cleaned away from the table tops and thrown out. None of the kids willingly would volunteer to help out (expect Hunk, that sweet angel) so Shiro usually made them draw labelled paddle pop sticks out of a box to delegate roles.

Keith had been the unlucky one to draw out the sweeping paddle pop. He gave the box of sticks an offended scowl before skulking off towards the supply closet. Shiro watched him fondly before offering the box to the rest of the kids. Now that the worst job had been taken, they were lest hesitant when drawing out their own paddle pop sticks. 

After everyone had been assigned a role and started cleaning, Shiro put the box away and went to find Allura. One of the kids had accidentally tripped her earlier that day, and she’d ended up with a small scrape on her knee. Shiro, as the self-appointed best band aid applier in the building, was the one to disinfect and cover the wound. Although she wasn’t hurt at all, it had become evident that she was quite tired, so Shiro and Coran had used the scrape as a way to get her to take it easy for the evening. 

He hadn’t expected to find her asleep, slumped against the small couch they had in the office. She really must have been tired, huh? 

Before he could talk himself out of it, he quietly pulled his jacket off the back of his chair, and gently draped it across her torso. She shifted for a moment, mumbling something he couldn’t quite make out, before rubbing her face against the fabric and pulling it tighter around her shoulders. After a moment she stilled again, content. Shiro couldn’t help but coo at her.

_Ahh, so she’s cute._


	28. Sugar

The kids didn’t often get overly sweet or unhealthy treats while at the kindergarten. When there wasn’t some sort of event going on (Shiro cringed thinking about all the sugar consumed on Halloween), Coran usually made them sandwiches and fruit salads and a variety of healthy snacks. They were pretty delicious most of the time, too, unless Coran started “experimenting”. 

One day during the holidays, however, they brought in fairy floss for the kids. It had been Allura’s idea, and Shiro was a little suspicious that she just wanted some for herself too, but neither he nor Coran protested. Besides, they both knew the children would absolutely love it.

And boy did they.

For one, none of the adults in the kindergarten knew how to work a fairy floss machine. Coran had tried and ended up with sugar all in his moustache, which he did not appreciate. Allura had tried too, and even with her hair tied up it had gathered more sugar than Shiro thought was even possible. He thought it was pretty amusing to see her covered in the pink, dust-like particles that flew out of the machine, though she wasn’t particularly impressed by any of it.

Of course, he wasn’t the best at spinning the sugar either, but he could at least keep the fairy floss mostly on the stick. He had a lot of sugar stuck between the joints of his hand that would be hell to clean out later, but he thought it was worth it. There was nothing better than seeing all the kids (and Allura) so happy, and not even the ravenous sugar highs everyone experienced could dampen his mood.

Besides, Allura was in a good mood that day. She was affectionate and loud and when Shiro, without thinking, bent to kiss her cheek, she’d only laughed and kissed his back. “I can taste the fairy floss on you!” She declared, eyes bright and cheeks red. “You taste so sweet.”

He’d wanted to tell her that she tasted sweet too, but he could only give her a flustered smile. He could taste sugar on his lips for the rest of the entire day.


	29. Sleep

One day, Lance was unexpectedly tired. His mother had pulled Shiro aside in the morning when she’d dropped him off to explain that he’d had a rough time sleeping the previous night, so Shiro had expected him to be a little quieter than usual. 

For most of the morning, he acted pretty normal. He played with the other kids and argued with Keith and ate his bowl of fruit for morning tea with enthusiasm. Shiro almost forgot that he’d had a rough night, but it was a small, persistent presence in the back of his mind, and so he tried to keep a close eye on Lance.

It was when Lance started to look fatigued and exhausted that he called Lance back inside. He followed Shiro quietly, and yawned more than once. Poor kid. 

“How about you take a rest in the office, Lance?” Shiro offered, bending down to be at Lance’s eyelevel. Lance was rubbing at his eyes with his knuckles now. “You seem a little tired.”

Lance nodded without protesting at all, and lifted his arms up, his little fingers outstretched. Shiro hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly, and it was with a little bit of surprise that he lifted Lance up into his arms. He could feel Lance yawn against his skin, and then rest his head on Shiro’s shoulder, his arms around Shiro’s neck. 

Shiro patted his back a couple of times as he took Lance to the office. He could rest on the couch in there, where it was cool and quiet. Hopefully Lance would feel a little better by the time the afternoon rolled around if he caught up on some sleep. 

It must have only been a minute between the time Shiro picked Lance up and the time he entered the office, but when he did, Lance was fast asleep. Shiro carefully lowered him down onto the couch, his head resting on one of the decorative pillows Allura brought, and made sure he really was asleep before leaving him be.

For the most part, the rest of the day progressed as it usually did. Shiro only noticed something amiss when lunch time rolled around and there was not one, but two empty seats at the table. He checked outside and in the recreation room, and even in the bathroom, but Keith was nowhere to be found. Not even Allura had seen him in the last hour.

Shiro almost panicked when he couldn’t find Keith, but something told him that Keith wasn’t missing or injured. After thinking on it for a moment, he headed towards the office. It was strange, after all, to find Keith without Lance beside him. He should have expected it, really.

Keith was, in fact, in the office. Shiro found him squished onto the couch next to Lance, his hands curled around Lance’s waist like he was trying to hug him. His eyes were closed, and he was clearly asleep, as well. He’d dragged Shiro’s jacket off of the back of his chair and was using it as a blanket for them both.

It was ridiculously cute, Shiro admitted. He could feel his heart practically melting at the sight of the two of them sleeping together. Keith must have been really worried about Lance, huh? Maybe Shiro could forgive him for sneaking into the office just this one time.


	30. Call

Sometimes, the kid’s parents were late when coming to pick them up. Shiro didn’t particularly mind staying back for a while, but it always made the child anxious. Being the last kid left at the kindergarten often stressed them out, and the sight of the empty, quiet rooms never helped. The building changed when it wasn’t filled with noise and activity.

One night, Lance’s parents were held up at an appointment with one of their older children. They would only be an hour or so late, but that meant Lance was at the kindergarten without Hunk, Pidge or Keith (even though Keith had valiantly tried to stay when his father arrived to take him home). 

Lance didn’t like being alone. He sulked in the recreation room, sunken into their beanbag with his lion and his matching blanket clutched to his chest. He didn’t want a snack when Shiro offered it, and even rejected Shiro’s suggestion of reading a story to him. That was something Lance never said no to, so it was safe to say Shiro was concerned. He didn’t know how to cheer Lance up.

That is, until a phone call came in. Coran and Allura had already gone home, so Shiro was the one to answer. He was quite surprised to hear Mrs Kogane on the line.

“Shiro? Sorry to bother you…”

“No, no, it’s alright,” he said. “Did Keith forget something?”

“Not exactly…” She said, before sighing. “His friend Lance is still there, right? He won’t stop worrying about Lance, and it’s really riling him up. If it’s not too much to ask, can you put him on the phone? Keith is really insisting…”

Shiro blinked several times, surprised. Really, he shouldn’t have been – of course Keith would be worried, and of course he’d demand to know if Lance was alright. Shiro should have expected it. “Alright,” he said, “but only for a moment.” He couldn’t hold up the line after all, not in case Lance’s parents called.

“Thank you, Shiro,” she said, before he could hear the sound of her telling Keith to be quick. 

As she did, Shiro made his way back into the recreation room, and crouched down beside Lance. “You’ve got a phone call,” he said, offering Lance both the phone and a small smile.

Lance blinked at him, eyes big and worried, and carefully took the phone. He used both hands to press it to his ear, and then his eyes suddenly went wide, and his smile came back. “Keith!”

Shiro smiled again, and stood. He was glad Lance was happy again.


	31. Dress

“N-no, Shiro, you have to take the lead more-”

“Sorry-”

“Put your hand on my waist. My _waist,_ Shiro. That’s my hip.”

“W-what’s the difference?”

“It’s so you can lead me better. Ready?”

“No.”

“Great! Just relax, I’ll lead you for now until you can used to it.”

Shiro blinked several times, his face red. He knew his hand was sweaty, and he really hoped Allura couldn’t tell that through her shirt. “I really don’t think dancing is my forte,” he said, flustered. 

“You can’t avoid the dancefloor at a wedding,” Allura insisted, as she led Shiro though a number of steps for some sort of formal dance she knew rather well. “Trust me, I have a lot of relatives that are going to absolutely _love_ a man like you.”

Shiro almost tripped over his own feet at that. “L-like me?”

“Of course!” Allura grinned. “A young, strapping man for them to drool over? Not to mention you’re completely unrelated to them. You’ll be the prince of the ball.”

He laughed a little. “I hope not! That should be left to the groom, don’t you think?”

She laughed too, and continued to teach him how to dance. Her hand on his shoulder was distracting, as were the closeness of her eyes. He couldn’t help but watch her fondly, and hoped his infatuation didn’t show on his face too much.

A distant cousin of Allura was having a wedding that weekend. She’d asked Shiro to go with her, and of course he’d eventually managed to squeeze out an enthusiastic yes, but the problem of his dancing skills was quite evident. It was sort of a tradition for everyone to dance a bunch of dances at weddings in Allura’s family, and Shiro didn’t want to let her down, so when she’d offered to teach him he hadn’t turned her down. 

He really hoped he didn’t embarrass her at the wedding. He wanted to impress her family, after all, and her too. It would be the first time they’d ever really gone out with the intention of going _together,_ and while he was nervous, he was also really excited. He’d get to see Allura in a pretty dress, dancing, in a pretty dress…


	32. Suit

Contrary to popular belief, Shiro did have friends outside of work. He’d had many back during his days at the Galaxy Garrison, but after his accident he’d started to drift away from them. They were more like acquaintances now, except for one – Matt Holt.

Who was, coincidentally, Pidge’s older brother.

Matt had always been a funny character. He looked small and fragile, but Shiro knew better than anyone that Matt could lift him with no trouble, or drink anyone under the table without breaking a sweat. His dry and sometimes brutal humour had taken a while to get used to, but Matt was one of the people Shiro trusted the most, and he valued their friendship very highly.

Besides, Matt never took any of Shiro’s woe-is-me crap, and always managed to cheer him up. What more could Shiro want from a close friend?

Of course, taking Matt out anywhere meant it was going to be a very amusing day, at least on Matt’s behalf. Shiro needed to buy a suit for the wedding and without any fashion sense himself, he’d turned to Matt. His friend thought that Shiro’s infatuation with his co-worker was completely and utterly hilarious, and never failed to tease Shiro about it.

“How does this one look?” Shiro asked, as he drew back the curtain to the fitting room. 

Matt was waiting on a plush looking couch in the small viewing area, and as Shiro stepped into sight, he gave him a critical look. “I think I like the other one better,” he said after a moment, with a small nod to himself. “It makes your shoulders look nicer.”

Shiro gave him a look. “How can shoulders look nice in the first place?”

Matt gave him a cheeky grin, and jumped to his feet. “Trust me, trust me!” He said, smiling cheerfully as he turned Shiro around to brush down his jacket. “There’s not much time to get tailoring done, right? So it’d be better if we could find something off the rack that fits your ridiculously muscled body as best as it can.”

“My what now?” Shiro sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Shopping for clothes really wasn’t his thing. “So the other one? The dark one?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Matt said, nodding again. He smoothed his hands down Shiro’s shoulders before pushing him back into the dressing room. “Get changed, and we’ll get that suit and then find you a tie. Her dress is purple, right?”

“Lilac,” Shiro corrected. “It has to be lilac. I have to match her perfectly.”

Matt laughed. “You’re so in love with her,” he said. Matt sounded rather fond, and it made Shiro pause for a moment. “I can’t wait to meet her. She sounds like a pretty cool girl.”

Shiro smiled to himself as he put his casual clothes back on. “She is,” he said. “I think you’ll like her.”

“Well I mean, if you like her this much, then I’m sure to as well,” Matt said. He drew back the curtain and ushered Shiro towards the front desk. “You’re picking her up, right?”

“Yeah.”

“This is so exciting!” Matt said, smacking Shiro on the back. “You’re finally growing up, huh? I never thought this day would come.”

Shiro tried not to laugh, but being with Matt made it impossible not to. “You’re hilarious, truly.”

“Oh, I know,” Matt grinned. “Now come on, we need to find you a lilac tie, and then you can listen to me complain about my dumb co-workers for three hours while we eat shitty takeout food on your nice couch in your nice house. How does that sound to you?”

“Wonderful.”


	33. Lilac

Shiro was nervous.

It wasn’t something that usually happened. He’d been a pretty confident guy, and although that had changed a little with his arm, he’d learned to present himself in a way that didn’t make him vulnerable. Working with the children had helped, too; their unabashed sureness showed him that sometimes it was easier to let go of his insecurities than to try and hide them.

But this was different. He’d spent the entire day worrying about things that could go wrong, or saying something bad, or doing something he shouldn’t. For one, he hadn’t attended many weddings before, maybe only two or three in his life. He wasn’t sure what would be happening or where he needed to be, and that was stressful. It was not, however, the wedding itself that worried him the most.

It was Allura. 

Or, more specifically, the fact that he liked her so much. What was he going to do if he embarrassed her? If he accidentally offended her family, or made a bad impression? He just wanted her to be happy, and if he messed that up, he’d never forgive himself.

It had taken him a while to get dressed, and not only because squeezing his prosthetic through the closely tailored suit arm without letting the fabric catch in the joints was difficult. He was too nervous to do his buttons up the first time, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get his lilac tie to sit straight. He wasn’t even sure he’d gotten the right shade of lilac. What if it was the wrong colour?

He hoped he looked alright. Matt had helped him choose a nice suit, and he’d kept it as neat and clean as he possibly could. He’d brushed his hair and tried to part it neatly, and he’d made sure to clean his face, too. There wasn’t much more he could do, he didn’t think, other than wait and see if he met Allura’s approval. 

As he was the one who would be driving them to and from the wedding, he knew he had to get a move on. He couldn’t stand in front of his mirror brooding forever. There was little doubt in his mind that he was overthinking it all, and that as soon as he was with Allura he’d be fine, like usual. Allura didn’t live all that far away from him, so he didn’t have long to wilt in his thoughts before he was nervously standing before her door, waiting for her to come down.

When she did, all his worries melted away.

Her dress was very pretty. It hugged her figure and covered her chest, and had some sort of band around the neck. It was long, and there was a slit up the left side, but it looked very classy, he thought. Allura was already a very beautiful person, but the dress made her seem even prettier. 

“Well don’t you look handsome,” she said, as a bashful smile touched her lips. She looked flushed, and Shiro wondered if she had been nervous, too. After locking her door, she followed him out to his car. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“It’s my pleasure, really,” he said, because it was. He saw Allura every day, but there was not a single moment where her beauty was lost on him. He thought he’d become used to it, that one day his heart wouldn’t beat so fast just at the mere sight of her, but that wasn’t the case. “You look… you look really beautiful.”

She ducked her head, and for the first time, Shiro saw her honestly blush. She had been nervous, then. “You flatter me too much,” she said, as she lifted her head to give him a dazzling, albeit flushed smile. “Here, bend down a little, I’ll fix your tie.”

He laughed a little. “Sorry, I just couldn’t quite get it.”

Her fingers made quick work of straightening his tie. She was so close that he could smell mint on her breath, just under the sweet-scented perfume on her skin. When she was done, she leaned back, just a little, before reaching a hand up to brush through his hair, too. “There, all done.”

He smiled again. “Ready to go?”

She nodded, and took his hand. “Let’s go.”


	34. Unafraid

The ceremony was nice. After mingling and being introduced to more guests and family members than he could ever possibly remember, they’d sat down to watch the bride and groom be wed, and then they’d moved to the cocktail hour while important photos were taken and the reception area was being set up.

Shiro had forgotten how peaceful weddings could be. The bride and groom had invited a lovely group of people, and there was no drama between anyone. A soft, nostalgic air had settled over the ceremony area as they’d listened to sweet stories and even sweeter vows, and somewhere in between it all he’d found himself holding Allura’s hand between his own, tracing the lines on her palm with his thumb.

It was nice to see Allura relaxed, too. After they’d congratulated the couple, they’d gotten pretty coloured drinks at the bar and wandered out to sit in the garden with the rest of the guests. The wedding was outdoors; the ceremony had been held outside, in a garden lined with tall rose bushes and weeping willows that casted shade on the guests. An archway bursting with flowers had stood over the couple, and birds had flittered freely amongst them, without fear or hesitation. 

The reception area was indoors, with decorated tables and seats disguised under matching covers. Shiro had been assigned a seat beside Allura at a table with her father and their close friends, which he was relieved about. He got along with Alfor – mostly because Alfor liked to tease him relentlessly just to see him squirm – and Allura’s friends were all quite friendly. 

For the most part, Shiro spent the evening listening to the guests talking, which he didn’t mind. They seemed to like him, if the way they touched his shoulders and complimented his looks were any indication. He was nervous about his prosthetic, and kept his hand under the table when he could, though there was no way he could hide the scar across his nose.

But no one really seemed to notice. He didn’t know if Allura had mentioned it or not, but no one asked him about his arm, or offered him condolences, or let their eyes linger. It was strange, considering the treatment he was used to, but not entirely unwelcome.

He thought that it was nice that he had Allura looking out for him. He could feel her eyes on him when he talked to other people without her at his elbow, and she seemed unafraid to take his hand under the table when they were listening to the pleasant conversations other people were having. She never said a bad word about him, either, and never rose to the teasing they received. It made him feel like she was enforcing the idea that he was a good person, and that she liked him. He’d been doing the same thing, after all.

After eating, when the bride and groom had had their first dance and the cake had been cut, most people returned to mingling. The dancefloor was open, and scattered with flower petals from the first dance. He’d seen Allura eyeing the dancing partners for a while, and although his heart had been fluttering nervously, he’d offered her his hand.

The way her eyes lit up would never leave him.

Dancing with Allura was serene. It was like the entire world bled away, and his focus become her, and solely her. It wasn’t about feeling her against him or controlling her movements through the dance steps; it was about something more, something he couldn’t explain. Dancing was an equal push and pull, and where he faltered, she was there to guide him. He felt like he could lean on her, and that when he did, he wouldn’t fall.

Except he’d already fallen for her, hadn’t he?

He couldn’t help but sigh contentedly as he twirled her around the dancefloor. Her hand was tucked firmly in his, and he had his arm perhaps a little too far around her waist, but she didn’t seem to mind at all. When he rested his cheek against her hair, she hid a small smile against his chest. She felt unexpectedly small then, and he couldn’t help but lean closer, couldn’t help but press his palm flat against the small of her back. 

He wanted to marry her one day, if she’d let him.


	35. Timing

There hadn’t been many weddings in Shiro’s family that he could recall. His family wasn’t all that big to begin with, and by the time he’d been born his parents had already been married for several years.

Attending the wedding with Allura made him think a little differently. He hadn’t expected to enjoy the evening as much as he had, and although he hardly knew anyone at the venue, he felt welcome, or like he belonged. No one treated him any differently because he wasn’t family, or because of his arm. If anything, it was like they didn’t notice anything different about him at all.

Being at the wedding also prompted him to think about Allura a lot more. He really wanted to date her, or hold her hand, or kiss her. To do something more than they were already doing. Was it appropriate, considering their jobs? He doubted any of the parents would mind, and all the children seemed aware of his crush on Allura by now… 

He just liked her so much. He’d never fallen for somebody like this, never had his heart leap at the mere thought of them. Allura was so kind and beautiful, and so accepting of him and his faults that he could hardly believe she was real. Anytime his mind strayed back to the secret conversation they’d had when they were stuck in the storage closet at the kindergarten, his face turned red, and his heart began to beat real fast.

There was no doubt in his mind that he liked her; liked her a lot. She liked him too, didn’t she? Maybe it would be okay if he asked her out, then. Properly. The wedding seemed like the perfect opportunity to.

It was all about timing, and with the stars coming out to greet them, he thought there was no better moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to update Moonset Deep tonight, but I was so exhausted I fell asleep at my laptop three times ^^" This was all I could manage today, sorry ^_____T


	36. Kiss

There was a small area outside the main reception hall that was lit by old lampposts and small ground lights, of which lined stone pathways that lead through the garden. It wasn’t an empty area, because people walked around with a quiet gentleness befitting of the scenery, but Shiro didn’t mind. He had Allura’s hand tucked into his elbow as he led her down the path, and her presence was enough to captive him completely.

The night had been good, Shiro thought. The bride and groom were happy, the guests were happy, and Allura was happy. Shiro was happy, too, especially now that he had Allura to himself again as they strolled through the gardens together. The night air was a little chilly when they were away from the reception hall, so he draped his jacket over her shoulders, and delighted in the bashful smile she gave him in return. He thought it was the little things like that that made him truly love her.

For a while they simply talked. It was easy talking with Allura, especially when they were both as relaxed as they were. They talked about their plans for the week at the kindergarten, and how Lance and Keith were getting along remarkably well at the moment. They talked about the wedding too, and how nice it had been, how pleasant the evening felt all the way through.

“Thank you for coming with me,” Allura said, as they took a seat on a bench hidden away underneath a wooden pergola. “I really appreciate it, Shiro.”

“It was my pleasure,” Shiro said. One of Allura’s dainty but capable hands was tucked away between his own, which he held on her knee. He wasn’t sure when he’d taken her hand, but he was glad he had. He was very careful with his prosthetic, and hoped it wasn’t too cold against her skin. 

After a moment, Allura shifted closer, close enough so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. Shiro felt his heart jump when she did, and he couldn’t help but lean into her, too. She had a smile on her face, and while it wasn’t aimed directly at him, Shiro knew that he’d caused at least a small part of it. Who wouldn’t be pleased when Allura smiled so prettily? There was no doubt in his mind that she could captive an entire room of people if she did nothing more than smile.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” Allura said, her voice soft and quiet. “Everyone really likes you. I was worried they’d chase you off, or say something to offend you.”

“If they’re anything like you, I doubt they’ll do anything to frighten me,” he said, laughing a little. He was far too addicted to Allura to be chased away.

Allura laughed too, and turned her big blue eyes up at him. “You like me, don’t you, Shiro? That’s why you always do so much for me.”

Colour flooded his cheeks. He’d wanted to ask her on a date properly, tell her that he liked her properly, but it seemed fitting that Allura would beat him to it. He’d wanted to surprise her, to show that he was serious about liking her, and there was only one thing that came to mind when he thought about how he could still do that.

So he pressed his palm under her chin, tilted her head up, and kissed her.

It was only for a moment, only a chaste press of lips, but it made his stomach twist in an incredibly good way. He was afraid that his actions might have been too forceful when Allura made a small, shocked noise, and he pulled back to see if she was okay.

But her hand found a place at the back of his neck, and she drew him in again.

Maybe he’d made the right decision, after all.


	37. Label

They decided not to tell anyone they were in a relationship. Shiro hadn’t been the one to bring up keeping their relationship a secret, but he’d agreed without hesitation for a number of reasons. One was that he was still unsure about what to call their relationship – calling it dating felt too juvenile, and although he was pretty sure he was Allura’s boyfriend now, that label felt too… flimsy, as well.

His relationship with Allura felt like something so important to him that he just couldn’t label it, couldn’t find the right word to fit whatever it was they had, so he didn’t. He knew that she wasn’t interested in anyone else, and that he wasn’t, either. For all intents and purposes it was a relationship, so he didn’t think they needed any labels. It worked for both of them.

Besides, they both thought it was something they should ease the kids at Altea Kindergarten into, after all. Even if the kids thought they were already together, it wasn’t something they wanted to flaunt, let alone in front of the children. A lot of people looked down on workplace relationships, and they didn’t want to make the parents uncomfortable, so anything they did regarding their relationship would be slow and careful.

At least, that was how it was _supposed_ to be.

“A-Allura, wait,” Shiro said, as Allura’s arms slipped around his waist. “What if someone comes in?”

Allura hummed, and hardly seemed to listen to him. Her forehead was pressed against his chest, and he could feel her fingers gripping fistfuls of his shirt. The edge of the kitchen counter was digging into the small of his back, but with Allura before him, he ignored it.

“What is it?” He asked quietly, as he placed his hand on the back of her head. It was one of his favourite places to hold her, just because her hair was so soft and fluffy. She seemed to like it, too. He always made sure to use his flesh hand, though he didn’t think she’d noticed that quite yet.

“Nothing,” she said, “I just missed you.”

His face flushed. “You’ve seen me all day,” he said. “We work together.”

“Doesn’t count,” she argued, her tone light-hearted and teasing. Her hand rubbed small circles into his back almost like she wasn’t thinking about it, which she probably wasn’t. “I want to see you like this.”

Ah, that wasn’t fair. She was acting too cute and he didn’t think his heart could handle it. How could he possibly concentrate on all the things he had to do for the day when he knew she was thinking things like that? Totally unfair. 

Unexpectedly, a small head appeared around the corner. “Shiro? I want to ask you something.”

Shiro jumped at the sound of Lance’s voice, and jerked away from Allura. “W-what’s up, buddy?” He asked. He desperately hoped his cheeks weren’t too red, but by the sound of Allura’s snicker, they must have been.

“I want to ask you something,” Lance repeated. He was fiddling with the hem of his shirt, and after a moment he quietly added, “In private.”

Shiro gave him a puzzled look, because it wasn’t something that Lance would usually ask for, but Allura only laughed. “Oh, I see, you need some boy talk. We’ll finish our conversation later, okay Shiro?”

“Okay,” he said, as he watched her leave. He wanted to point out that their conversation hadn’t really been a conversation, but didn’t. When she had left the kitchen, he beckoned Lance closer. “What’s troubling you?”

Lance hesitated. “It’s Keith,” he finally admitted. He looked a bit upset even just saying the words, and it made Shiro’s heart clench. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

“I’m pretty sure he likes you, Lance,” Shiro comforted. “You’re best friends.”

“Yeah, but someone else likes him, too. What if he doesn’t like me the best?”

Shiro hummed. Although the questions were coming from a child, they sounded oddly familiar. He’d thought the same thing about Allura, hadn’t he? Except he hadn’t been thinking about friendship. “Well, that depends on how you like him,” he said carefully. “You have more than one friend, right? Most people have more than one friend, and that means Keith, too.”

“I know,” Lance said, nodding. “But this is different. A girl said she likes Keith.”

“Oh.” Well, that was different indeed. Shiro knew the kids had crushes on each other as frequently as the days changed, and he wasn’t exactly surprised that the current trend was leaning towards liking Keith. Even though he was quiet, he was a good kid, and he would be a real looker when he was older. “Does that upset you?”

Lance huffed. “No.”

Shiro raised his eyebrows.

“Yes,” Lance muttered. “Keith is my friend, not hers.”

It was with an abrupt feeling that Shiro realised Lance was jealous. He’d sometimes thought that the way Lance and Keith seemed attached at the hip would be a phase; a lot of parents flippantly said the same thing, and it seemed like the easy answer. But what if it wasn’t? It wasn’t like Shiro hadn’t come across diverse kids before – Pidge was a perfect example.

“You don’t need to worry too much,” Shiro said, as he ruffled Lance’s hair. “Like you said, Keith is your friend, right?”

Lance nodded.

“Nothing will stop you from being his friend either, right?”

Again, Lance nodded.

“Then just trust that he feels the same,” Shiro said. “I’m sure you’ll always be close.”

At Shiro’s words, Lance seemed a little more reassured. He nodded again, though it seemed like he did only to comfort himself, before reaching forwards to hug Shiro. “Thanks,” he muttered. “And don’t tell Keith I said anything!”

Shiro chuckled. Now that sounded more like Lance. “I won’t,” he promised. 

Lance gave him a mischievous smile. “And I won’t tell anyone about you and Allura!”

Shiro spluttered. “Not so loud, Lance!” He hissed.

Somewhere from the office, he heard Allura snicker again. Well, perhaps it was a little amusing.


	38. Ruffled

Although Shiro felt like the issue between Lance and Keith should have been resolved with the talk he had with Lance earlier, it probably wasn’t. Things with those two boys were never that easy, after all, so it was something he kept a close eye on for the remainder of the afternoon. 

The little girl that had a crush on Keith was a nice girl. She had a sweet face, and although she was shy, she wasn’t often afraid to speak her mind, especially if prompted. She wasn’t one of the girls that was afraid to play with the boys, either, so when she and her group of friends joined Shiro’s table with his kids, it certainly caused a few of Lance’s feathers to ruffle.

It wasn’t like Lance was mean to her, but not even jealously could make him like that. But he wasn’t exactly welcoming, either. He didn’t joke with the girls, and didn’t let any of them sit next to Keith. He frowned a lot more than usual, and stuck far closer to Keith than he typically would of. It was completely obvious to Shiro, but thankfully not obvious to the children. If anything, they just didn’t seem to understand why Lance was giving them the cold shoulder.

He wasn’t exactly sure what he should do about it, if he were being honest. In the end he decided that he should probably let the kids sort it out for themselves. Lance had already approached him, after all, and there wasn’t much more Shiro could do other than force them to work it out by addressing the problem directly. And while that seemed like it would solve the problem sooner rather than later, he didn’t think it would teach any of the kids anything. They’d have to learn to fight their own battles eventually, even if Shiro wanted to do nothing more than help them.

The problem really came to a head when the girl managed to sit next to Keith when Lance wasn’t looking. Shiro knew she wasn’t doing anything to spite Lance, and that her crush on Keith really was just something fleeting and innocent, but it really was upsetting Lance. When she managed to tell Keith that she liked him, Lance pushed away from the table and all but stormed out of the recreation room.

Shiro winced. Maybe he should have intervened, after all.

But Keith was frowning, now. His eyes followed Lance leave the room, before they slowly slid over to the girl. “Sorry, but I don’t like you,” he mumbled, before he stood too. “I only like Lance.”

Shiro’s eyebrows rose. That was certainly unexpected. Although the girl looked sad, she didn’t follow Keith when he left the table. Shiro was meant to be supervising the kids in the recreation room, but he still edged out of the doorway so he could listen in on Lance and Keith, just in case something happened.

“Why are you angry?” Keith asked. He was frowning at Lance, but he didn’t look upset himself, only puzzled.

“I’m not angry,” Lance huffed. He was pouting, and almost looked like he was going to cry, and it made Shiro’s heart ache. Lance had incredibly expressive eyes, and to see them watery and confused really was heart wrenching. “I’m not.”

Shiro expected Keith to protest at that, because someone who wasn’t angry wouldn’t storm out of a room, but Keith didn’t. Instead, he threw his arms around Lance’s shoulders, and hugged him. One of his little hands was on the back of Lance’s head like he knew how comforting a gesture it was. It wasn’t the normal way he’d hug Lance, but it was still really sweet to see.

“It’s okay,” Keith said. “I only like Lance.”

Lance huffed again, but Shiro could see he was smiling as he hugged Keith back. “Why are you hugging me like this?” He asked. “It’s weird.”

“Huh? Oh, I see Shiro and Allura hug like this. Isn’t that what I’m meant to do?”

Lance snickered, and rubbed his nose against Keith’s shoulder. “Yeah! That’s true.”

Shiro pressed his palm against his face, utterly embarrassed. He was ready to hide beneath his blankets, now.


	39. Sickness

Shiro didn’t often get sick. He’d always been pretty health as a kid, and his father’s tendency to dust the house regularly meant he’d never really gotten runny noses or had sneezing fits. He didn’t have allergies – he could be around cats and roll around in grass and eat peanuts just fine – and while he did get sick, it just wasn’t something that commonly happened.

As he’d gotten older, he thought that the times he did get sick were far worse than they had been when he was a kid, especially when he started living on his own. Maybe the fact that he’d had his arm amputated had weakened his immune system – he’d healed right on schedule, but the process of actually losing the arm and the procedure to attach the prosthetic had been long and painful. He thought that maybe his immunity to common sicknesses had changed, then, and although he still wasn’t often sick, he certainly noticed more when he was.

That’s why, when he felt the tingling of a migraine beginning to buzz at the back of his head, he knew he was getting sick. He was aware that he still had a full day of work ahead of him, but the idea of placating screaming children and trying to wrangle them into cooperating like he usually did was exhausting. Even though he took pain medicine, it didn’t help much.

Allura noticed his discomfort straight away. She handed him a refrigerated bottle of water – her own, if the glittery words _Space Queen_ emblazoned across the side were anything to go by – and told him to drink up. The cool water did help for a while, but by the time the afternoon came around, he was completely exhausted. 

“Why don’t you take a rest on the couch for a little, Shiro?” Coran suggested. Shiro had been helping him make afternoon tea for the kids in the kitchen, so eventually he’d noticed Shiro’s tiredness, too. Coming from him, it felt like a suggestion Shiro couldn’t ignore.

“Alright,” he said. If his head hadn’t been hurting so much, he might have put up a bit more of a fight, but as it was the couch seemed very inviting. After making sure he’d set aside everything he’d been working on, he snuck into the office, and gently shut the door.

The quiet was rather welcome. When he sunk down against the couch, he couldn’t help but sigh. He didn’t really fit on it when he stretched out, so he drew his legs up, and rested his head against his arm with his back to the door. Maybe rest would be good for him.

 

He mustn’t have been asleep for long when something woke him. He felt restless, and hot, and almost instantly he knew he was probably developing a fever. It was probably that that woke him, but there was something else, too.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you? Go back to sleep, Shiro.”

He blinked blurrily, and turned his head to face Allura. She was sitting on the edge of the couch beside him, and she had her fingers in her hair. When she pressed her palm to his forehead, no doubt to take his temperature, he couldn’t help but lean into her touch. “What time is it?”

“Don’t worry, you haven’t missed much,” Allura said. She continued to run her fingers through his hair, and trace her knuckles down his cheek and across his jaw. The motion was so comforting that he felt his eyes starting to slip shut again. “Want me to bring you some more water?”

He nodded. She was only gone for a moment, but her absence made his heart race, and not in a good way. The last time he’d gotten sick like this was a while after his surgery, and his mother had been so frightened for him that she’d spent a week by his bed until he’d been better, though he’d insisted she hadn’t needed to.

When Allura returned, she had him sit up so that she could take a seat on the end of the couch where his head had been resting. After he’d drained the glass, she set it aside for him, and let him to rest his head on her lap. He did so with some hesitation, but her legs were soft, and her clothes smelt clean and familiar. He pulled in a deep breath and exhaled once, before closing his eyes again.

Her fingers returned to his hair. “You should have told me you weren’t feeling well,” she chastised, though her voice was light, and it wasn’t accusatory. “I’ll drive you home today, okay?”

“But my car…”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow, too,” she said, before he could gather the energy to protest. “We lock the gates, your car will be fine here. So get some rest, alright? I’ll take care of you.”

He clenched his fingers in the end of her shirt. How could he have gotten so lucky? Allura didn’t have to look out for him, didn’t have to offer to care for him, but she did of her own violation. He knew it wasn’t because she pitied him, or because she thought that he couldn’t take care of himself. She did it because she wanted to help him, and wanted to make sure he was okay. What more could he have ever asked for?

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, when she felt his hand in her shirt, “I’ll stay until you fall asleep again. Get some rest, Shiro.”

When she asked something of him so warmly like that, there was nothing he could do but helplessly comply.


	40. Care

Shiro’s house wasn’t messy, but he was rather embarrassed to have Allura over for the first time when there were dishes unwashed and laundry that had to be done. She didn’t seem to mind too much as she curiously poked around, so Shiro put his embarrassment to the back of his mind.

Allura set her keys down on the kitchen bench. “I’m going to make something light for you to eat,” she said. “Why don’t you go take a shower?”

“Is that alright?”

“Yeah, go ahead. I’m sure I can manage.”

With no energy to argue, he did as he was told. For most of the evening he’d slept in the office, restlessly tossing and turning as his fever became worse. Towards the end of the evening he’d been surprised with a handmade _get well soon card_ from his kids, which he’d carefully kept safe until he could put it on his bedside table at home.

A shower made him feel a little better, and a little cleaner. He made sure to towel his hair dry, even though it made his head spin, before dressing in loose sweats and a shirt he was comfortable sleeping in. Usually he didn’t wear a shirt to bed, but there was no way he could show Allura the scars on his shoulder yet. 

When he wandered back out into his kitchen, he found Allura hovering over the stove. There was a pleasant smell in the air, one that made him feel hungry, even though he didn’t usually eat much when he was sick. He could see that she’d raided his fridge for vegetables, and somehow made do with what she’d found. He’d need to go shopping for groceries on the weekend.

“Ah, you’re out,” Allura said, when she noticed him standing in the doorway. “I hope you don’t mind me raiding your cupboards. My mother used to always make this for me when I was sick as a child. It’s a family recipe, you know.”

“I don’t mind,” Shiro said quietly. He wandered closer, and peered over her shoulder to see what she was making. He wasn’t sure what it actually was, but it looked as good as it smelt. He’d always known Allura was a reliable person, but he was really starting to see why the children loved her as much as they did now, too. 

“How’s your head?” She asked, as she peered back up at him. Her eyes were very blue as they met his.

He startled, suddenly quite aware of how close he’d put himself to her. “Sore,” he answered honestly, but he didn’t move away from her. If he wasn’t so unsure about his weight being a burden to her, he might have curled up against her back.

“Go sit down, then,” she said, nudging him away. “This should be done soon, I’ll bring it to you. Off you go.”

“Alright…”

His couch wasn’t the comfiest thing to sit on, but in that moment he thought that he could have probably slept for twelve hours straight on it, without even waking up. He felt like he really could have fallen asleep just by listening to Allura move about his home. It had been a long time since he’d had someone over, and even longer since someone had made a meal for him.

He was suddenly overcome by the urge to hold her. Allura was doing so much for him without even being asked, wasn’t she? It would have been perfectly fine for her to just drive him home, and even doing that was going out of her way, but she was cooking for him too, and caring for him. He didn’t think his heart would ever hurt over something like love, and yet it was. He’d never loved anyone like he loved her, and she didn’t even know it.


	41. Rest

Although Shiro wasn’t quite sure what had been in Allura’s special food, it had still tasted really good. True to her word, it had made him feel a little better, and it had settled his stomach. He hadn’t really felt like eating much, but Allura’s gentle insistence had had him finishing the entire bowl.

Of course, he’d been rewarded with cuddles afterwards. Allura’s presence was welcoming and comforting as he’d wound down for the evening. He’d laid mostly across her lap, with his head resting on her chest (he would be embarrassed about that when he was lucid, but for now it was soft and he could hear her heartbeat and that’s all he could ever want).

While Shiro dozed, she’d watched television, with the volume down low. It was crazy how easy she fit into his home, how seamlessly she had found a space for herself. Even if Shiro hadn’t been sick, he thought her presence in his home wouldn’t have disturbed him at all. Quite the opposite, actually. 

When his mind wasn’t preoccupied with sleep or thoughts about exactly where his cheek was resting, he wondered what she would do when evening came. He didn’t have a spare bed in the guest room, and the couch was no place for someone as important to him as Allura was to sleep. He wouldn’t have minded sharing a bed with her, but would that be going too far? And what if he got her sick? He hadn’t let the children in to see him at all that day, knowing that there was a chance they could get ill because of him. He didn’t want Allura to get infected with his fever, either.

As Shiro really started to yawn, Allura turned the television off. “I think it’s time for bed,” she said, her voice quiet and unobtrusive. “You need to rest.”

He agreed, but he didn’t want her to go. Reluctantly, he pushed himself upright, and dragged a hand down his face. His head was still pounding, and he felt hot in his skin. There was nothing worse than being sick.

“Shiro?”

He blinked several times to clear his blurry vision before glancing at her.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, before tentatively asking, “Is it alright if I stay here for the night?”

His eyes widened. He was nodding before he’d even brought up the fact that he had only one bed in the house.

Allura let out a relieved noise. “Okay. I have spare clothes in my car, but do you have a shirt I could sleep in, or something? I want to take a shower first, I’m sure I have glitter in my hair.”

“I’m sure I can find something.”

“Alright, I’ll just go grab my things.”

If Shiro were being honest, he thought any of his clothes would have looked good on Allura. He was taller than her, and his shoulders were much broader than hers, too. Anything he gave her would hang off of her frame quite a lot, and just thinking about it was making him redder than the fever was. 

He ended up finding her one of his shirts with a cheesy graphic on the front. It was clean and soft and he was sure it wouldn’t make her look like she was wearing a gown. While she showered, he’d changed the bedsheets and gotten a glass of water for them both. He took more pain meds and opened the window, just a little, to let in fresh air, before collapsing across the cool sheets.

He would be sleeping with Allura. Even thinking those words made him want to bury his face beneath the sheets. He was a grown adult and he could hardly stand the thought of sleeping with his girlfriend because it made him so happy. It was easy to just blame the fever for his ridiculous thoughts.

As he heard the shower turn off, his heart jumped. Was he meant to just wait for her in the bedroom? He didn’t think he had the energy to get up anymore.

Allura appeared a moment later, completely oblivious to his worry. She was wearing his shirt (it looked way too good on her, and it made him feel things) and a pair of short, cotton shorts patterned with strawberry slices. She’d towelled her hair dry, but it still fell in damp, tangled waves over her shoulders. 

“Are you feeling okay? You look red,” she said, frowning.

“I’m fine,” he croaked. There was no way he was going to admit that it was her making him red, because he was pretty sure she already knew. When she went to slip into the left side of the bed, he reached out a hand. “Wait…”

Her eyes flashed up to his, and she suddenly looked nervous. “I- I can take the couch, if you would prefer-”

“No!” He exclaimed, flushed, as he shook his head. “N-no, but… could you sleep on the other side?” He glanced down at his arm – his right arm – and winced. “It’s just, if I put my arm around you, I don’t want it to be this one.”

Understanding fluttered across her face, and she nodded. She didn’t complain about his weird request at all as she slipped into the other side of the bed. She lay with her back to him expectantly, and it was with some hesitation that Shiro inched closer to her. He slipped his prosthetic arm under their pillows where its cold surface wouldn’t be of any bother, but he put his flesh arm across her waist. Her fingers sought out his, where they tangled together to rest against her stomach. He could feel her breathing in and out, just gently, and it was incredibly relaxing.

She fit into his arms perfectly.

“What if I get you sick?” He muttered, as he pressed his face into her hair. She smelt like his shampoo, and it was doing funny things to his heart. Would he ever get over the wonder of having her to himself? Probably not.

“It’s alright, I’ve caught the same thing before so I’ll be fine,” she said. Her thumb was rubbing soothing circles over the back of his hand. “I’m kind of nervous.”

“Me too,” he admitted in a rush. Knowing that she was feeling the same as him was reassuring.

“But I figured there’s nothing wrong with this,” she continued. “What’s wrong with me spending the night in my boyfriend’s bed? It’s kind of nice, actually.”

He closed his eyes, and nodded. He liked hearing that. Liked hearing her call him her boyfriend. Even if they didn’t want to label their relationship, it still sounded good. “Thanks for taking care of me,” he whispered.

She gently rubbed his hand again. “It’s my pleasure.”


	42. Morning

Waking up was a pleasant experience, for once. When Shiro opened his eyes, he found that he had a face full of tangled hair and an arm that was slowly losing feeling, but he wouldn’t have changed it for the world. Allura was still snuffling in her sleep, just quietly, but she looked comfortable, and had hardly moved all night.

His fever seemed to have cleared with the good night’s rest he’d had, which he was relieved about. They’d both have to get up and start getting ready to go to work, but he found himself quite opposed to the idea. He didn’t think he’d ever gotten himself into a more comfortable position, and he certainly didn’t want to leave it.

He decided to wait for Allura to wake up. It wasn’t so unreasonable for him to do that, right? She’d undoubtedly set an alarm on her phone, and they’d still have time to get ready before they had to leave. He could enjoy a small moment like this, couldn’t he? There was nothing wrong with him sleeping in for a little longer than he normally would have. 

Allura was very warm. She reminded Shiro of a hot water bottle like the one he’d cuddle with during his childhood winters; pleasant, and constant. She fit easily into his arms, too. He wondered if it would work the other way around.

Eventually, Allura did wake up. Her body tensed, just for a moment, before going boneless as she shifted and stretched. It seemed to take her a moment to realise she wasn’t alone, and when she did, she turned and made a sleepy, inquisitive noise.

“Good morning,” Shiro whispered.

“Morning,” she whispered back, as a smile touched her face. She twisted back just a little further to brush her lips against his, seemingly uncaring about the possibility of morning breath.

Even just a simple, chaste kiss had Shiro’s heart going wild.

“Ah, I don’t want to get up,” she sighed, as she rolled onto her back and pressed her nose just under his chin. “Your bed is really comfortable, you know!”

He chuckled. “Is that so?”

Spending the morning with Allura was something Shiro could imagine himself doing for a long time. After he’d gotten dressed, he left her to get ready, and prepared breakfast for them both. She’d cooked for him the previous night, after all, so it was only fair he provided breakfast. 

“I think I’ll tell Coran today,” Allura mentioned over breakfast. Her eyes flickered up to his for a moment. “If that’s okay with you?”

He was surprised, and a little nervous, but undeniably happy, too. If Allura wanted to tell Coran about their relationship, then he didn’t mind. Coran had helped raise Allura after all, and they were very close. He’d helped Shiro settle into his job at the kindergarten as well, even when he didn’t have to. Besides, he liked Coran.

When it was time to leave, Allura stopped him by the door. Before he really realised what was happening, she had her arms around his shoulders, and her head tucked under his chin. He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her as well, holding her as close as he dared. “Allura?”

“I’m charging up for the day,” she mumbled.

It was so adorably innocent that he couldn’t help but laugh, just quietly. Only Allura would come out with something like that… though he could faintly imagine either Keith or Lance saying the same thing, too. It was definitely an amusing thing to imagine.


	43. Necklace

The craft tables were pulled out that afternoon. Although Shiro knew he’d have to clean up mountains of glitter and paper cuttings, he knew the kids enjoyed it, and it was a fun way to end the day. A little clean up afterwards didn’t make the fun not worth it.

He sat at a table with his kids and tried not to let himself stare across the room at Allura too much. She was sitting at a different table, helping a group of girls glue feathers to the paper masks they were making. It looked like they were making a complete mess, and brightly coloured feather fluff had already found its way into Allura’s hair, but she was smiling.

Shiro sighed. She had a really pretty smile. It still did funny things to his heart, even though he’d seen it dozens and dozens of times.

“Shiro, pay attention to this!” Lance said, huffing demandingly. Their table was covered in containers full of plastic beads, which the group were using to string onto elastic thread. None of the kids, aside from Pidge, could tie a knot in the stretchy thread, so that was his designated role.

“Sorry, Lance,” he chuckled, as he took Lance’s finished piece to tie the ends together. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but he thought the colours were… nice. Lance certainly liked to use the clear beads full of blue glitter. “There, all tied.”

Lance’s eyes sparkled as Shiro handed him the necklace – he was going to guess it was a necklace for now – back. “Looks good, right?”

“Looks good,” Shiro agreed, smiling. He patiently waited for the necklace Keith was finishing before tying that, too. Their necklaces looked oddly similar, despite Keith’s being red, and although he should have expected it, he was still surprised when Lance and Keith gave each other their creations. 

Lance insisted on putting it around Keith’s neck, too. It got a little tangled in Keith’s long hair, but Lance managed to pull the beads through the strands without making Keith fuss too much. Keith was far gentler, and took the time to stretch the thread over Lance’s head, even though Lance’s squirming made it difficult. 

They really were the sweetest kids, at least when it came to each other. They got along a lot better these days, and even though they still fought, it wasn’t as bitter as it had been before. They certainly were quite a quirky bunch of children, but he loved looking after them, and he wouldn’t have changed any part of them.

Except maybe the parts that liked to stain each other’s clothes with paint.


	44. December

When December arrived, so too did a wave of over-the-top Christmas decorations. Shiro fondly remembered spending Christmas’s quietly at home with his parents when he was a child, and although he’d spent quite a few alone as he grew older, he still enjoyed the festivities. The Christmas parties hosted by the Garrison had been a lot of fun, especially when he had been able to convince Matt to go.

It seemed that Christmas at Altea Kindergarten was taken very seriously. Shiro was scheduled to arrive just after Allura and Coran on December first, so he was rather shocked to walk through the doors and find Christmas décor _everywhere._ Brightly coloured tinsel, baubles and wreaths were hanging from the ceiling and from every ledge, including the front desk and the cubby holes. It was like a Christmas explosion had happened overnight, and it certainly woke him right up.

“Ah, good morning, Shiro!” Allura said as she spotted him walking in. She had a spool of glittery tinsel in her hands, which she was using to stretch across the ceiling runners. 

“What’s with all the Christmas decorations?” He asked, eyebrows raised, as he set his things down in the office and wandered over to steady the ladder she was standing on. “Is that a Christmas tree in the recreation room?”

“Sure is,” she grinned. “Doesn’t it look so festive? Coran and I have been putting up decorations all morning.”

“It does look festive,” he agreed, chuckling. “December only just stared, you know.”

“Exactly! Time to get a move on.”

He laughed again. Because he lived on his own, he didn’t really put up many decorations, so it was kind of nice to see them everywhere. He knew the kids would love it too, which was certainly exciting. If he were being honest, he kind of missed celebrating Christmas so frivolously. 

They decided to leave decorating the tree to the kids. They would have arts and crafts that morning, where the children could create a whole bunch of different decorations. There was coloured felt and stuffing to make plush baubles, and Styrofoam balls they could cover in sequins and ribbon. There was sure to be a big mess again, but Shiro was still excited. The kids would really love it. Maybe the adults could make ornaments, too? He wouldn’t have minded doing that…

Just before the children started arriving for the morning, when Allura was almost finished sticking up Christmas-themed cut outs on the walls, Coran called Shiro into the kitchen. They hadn’t had a chance to talk one-on-one since Allura revealed their relationship, but Coran hadn’t treated him any differently, and didn’t seem to disapprove.

Still, Shiro was a little nervous. He really liked Allura (which was obvious) and he really respected Coran. He didn’t want either of those things to change, but he didn’t want to stop seeing Allura either, if anyone happened to disapprove of their relationship. It was probably a little selfish of him, but he didn’t want to give her up for anything.

“You know, I think you make Allura very happy,” Coran said, as they set to peeling apples and slicing up fruit for the kids to eat. “So I’m glad you’re finally together. You don’t have to look so nervous all the time.”

Shiro nodded. He already knew that, deep down, but hearing it said out loud was reassuring. “I hope I make her happy,” he said, smiling to himself. “She makes me happy.”

“I know, it’s very easy to see that,” Coran said. “I’m glad she found a partner like you, and not some riffraff I’d have to chase off.”

That made him laugh. “I can imagine that Alfor would beat you to it.”

“Oh, he certainly would. He likes you too, you know. Allura didn’t stop talking about you once during his last visit, though I doubt she noticed.”

He flushed. He was pretty sure he’d done the very same thing to Matt, at once point. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he had.


	45. Ornament

Predictably, the children did enjoy all of Allura’s Christmas decorations. Seeing their excitement as they walked in was brilliant, and it was incredibly infectious. Children were usually far more excited about Christmas than adults, especially children in their age range. 

Once everyone had arrived for the day, Shiro and Allura brought out the craft tables and set up the supplies. They had ribbon to tie the kid’s baubles on the tree cut and ready to go, but the rest of the crafting was completely up to the kids.

Shiro set his kids up at a table of their own, like usual. He made sure they’d have everything they need, and enough material so that Lance and Keith wouldn’t argue about having to share any of “their” supplies. He made sure to have lots of green for Pidge, and lots of yellow for Hunk, knowing they favoured those colours.

Unsurprisingly, Pidge got straight into creating quite a complicated ornament. Shiro wasn’t quite exactly sure what it was, but it was covered in green sequins and little attachments made from paddle pop sticks and fluffy pompoms. If Shiro were being completely honest, it did look quite amazing. Not very Christmassy, but very Pidge. He was sure to thread a ribbon through an eyehole glued into the main structure very carefully.

Hunk was more traditional with his creations. He used brown felt to cut out a reindeer shape – provided by a paper stencil – and very carefully sewed it together with thick thread. He stuck a little red pompom on its nose and glued star-shaped sequins to its back to give it spots. He was sure to put a lot of stuffing between the two pieces of felt so that it was soft. 

Lance and Keith made more… contemporary ornaments. For a moment they seemed to be going down the right track – covering Styrofoam balls with sequins and tying hanging loops with ribbon at the top – but then they deviated. Lance started it, like usual. He stole the first bauble Keith made, but abandoned, and started decorating it with feathers and glitter and coloured paddle pop sticks. It kind of looked like a dog, and then not a dog, before Shiro decided that it was probably a spaceship of some sort.

And of course Keith had to keep up. Before Shiro knew it their table had run out of Styrofoam balls _and_ ribbon, two things of which Shiro hadn’t thought they’d lack. Everything blue and red on the table had been used in their crafting tirade, and although Pidge and Hunk didn’t seem bothered, it certainly astounded Shiro. Everything had to be a competition for them, didn’t it? It was kind of funny if he really thought about it. At least it all looked very creative in the end.

As Coran helped the kids put their decorations on the tree, Allura walked over to him. “Shiro, how about we make ornaments, too?”

Her teasing smile told him that she knew he’d been wanting to do that. Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck. “That obvious, huh?”

She laughed, and encouraged him to sit back down at the table. “I want to make one too! I’m taking the pink sequins for myself, though.”

Faced with all the crafts (minus blue and red glitter, it seemed), Shiro was suddenly at a loss. There were heaps of things he could make, but he had no idea where to start. He decided to decorate one of the Styrofoam balls Keith had left mostly untouched. Although he wasn’t that good at designing, he used all of their colours to great shapes out of paint, ribbon and any leftover decorations he could manage to glue on – blue, red, yellow and green for the kids, and then black, pink and orange for the adults. A little childishly, he was sure to put black and pink together. 

Allura made a plush ornament like Hunk had done, but hers was a little pink lioness, instead. He noticed that she’d given it a black bow-tie and a Santa hat, which made him smile. Neither of their ornaments were particularly Christmassy, but it was the thought that counted, right?

There wasn’t much space on the tree, but when evening arrived and all the children had gone home, they went and hung their ornaments together.


	46. Sunset

One evening, when it was his and Allura’s turn to lock up, they found themselves alone in the kindergarten. Coran had already returned home, and all the children had been picked up by their parents. It was oddly quiet without them, and felt a lot lonelier than one would imagine. Shiro still hadn’t gotten used to the quiet.

The kids had played outside during the afternoon, and inside during the morning. Allura was cleaning up inside, so Shiro found himself outside, though he didn’t mind at all. He had to sweep up misplaced sand and cover the sandpit with its designated tarp, and pack away all the buckets and shovels left along the edge. He had to gather all the loose soccer balls, tiny beanbags and hula-hoops the kids had played with, too. He even found a skipping rope, though he hadn’t seen anyone use it.

When everything was done, he sat down on the swing set, and let out a deep sigh. Sure, he didn’t quite fit on the swing, but that didn’t matter. The sun was setting now, and it was casting everything in a pretty, orange glow. He’d always thought they were pretty, no matter how many he saw.

There was nothing better than seeing a sunset from the seat of his pilot fighter. That’s when the world had truly fallen away and all he could see was the beauty of the sky. He’d loved that feeling of control he’d had when he’d piloted a plane, no matter what sort it was. Heights had never frightened him, and he’d loved being able to see everything from so high up.  
Thinking about it made his arm hurt.

He’d never get to do that again, would he? Sure, he could still fly a plane, still had the skills and the knowledge, but it was different now. He wouldn’t be able to feel the movement of the plane beneath his hands, and there would always be a pilot better than him.

He remember the days when he was called the Garrison’s best, and his arm hurt even more.

“Does your arm hurt?”

He jumped at Allura’s voice, and for a moment, gave her a panicked look. He didn’t want her to think that his arm was troubling him, didn’t want her to worry over it. If he could of, he might have asked her to forget that it was anything more than a normal, human arm. 

Allura came closer, and gently drew his clenched hand away from his shoulder. He hadn’t noticed he’d been holding it. “You should tell me if your arm ever starts to hurt,” she said. She stepped between his legs, and leaned against him. It had been a long day and she kind of smelt like sweat and the chocolate biscuits she’d snacked on after lunch, but Shiro didn’t care. 

She was warm, and comforting, and her beauty was more than enough to replace the sunset.


	47. Flood

Shiro’s house flooded.

Well, technically, the house next door to him did, but the water leaked through and now his floor was unstable. Cleaners would have to come in and replaced the carpet with a new batch, and the wooden floors would need to be dried and polished again. It was tedious and expensive, but thankfully covered by his neighbour’s insurance.

The only problem was that he had to vacate his house for two days.

His parents lived too far away to house him, and Matt was off the grid for a Garrison training exercise, so he had absolutely nowhere to go. Even after he’d assured his things were safe and everything was in order, he still worried about where he would stay for those two days. A hotel would be expensive, and it wasn’t like he could live on the streets…

“You can stay with me, of course! Don’t even think about going anywhere else.”

Ah, she’s an angel. I can’t handle it.

Thankfully, he had the sweetest girlfriend in the world. He hadn’t wanted to intrude on Allura’s space or privacy, but she’d been pretty insistent. They’d already spent a night together, after all, so two shouldn’t have been a problem. Put logically, it was the next step up in their relationship. Shiro felt a little more at ease when thinking that.

He had a duffel bag (the one he’d been given by the Garrison back in the day, complete with branding and everything) packed full of everything he’d need for two days or so away from home. With it stashed in his car, he’d headed to work, and tried not to get himself too flustered about the impending situation. 

Of course, the secret little grins Allura gave him when she caught him staring weren’t helping at all.

It was like she knew what she did to him. Come to think of it, she probably did; she’d always been perceptive like that, always been able to read him without any trouble. Of course, when he gave her a bashful smile back, she always looked rather flustered, too.

Maybe spending two nights with her wouldn’t be so bad, especially not if he got to see more of those cute expressions she had.

But she didn’t need to know that.


	48. Apartment

Allura’s apartment was cosy. She had soft things everywhere; pillows on her bed, a rug on the floor, a blanket to curl up in on the couch. Her home was tidier than his, though there were things she still had to clean up, and clothes left tossed over her bed.

She let him put his bag down just inside the bedroom, and he took the first shower. It was incredibly distracting, he thought; Allura always smelt like her sweet-scented shampoo, which was in the bathroom, as were her soaps and body scrubs. It was all just very _Allura,_ and he liked her so much. It was impossible for him not to be distracted by all these things that made her up.

He sat on her comfortable couch and channel surfed while she showered. It was with a little hesitance that he pulled her blanket over his lap, too. It wasn’t particularly chilly, but the weight of it was pleasant, and it really was incredibly soft. He felt a little awkward, at first, but the longer he spent, the more settled he became.

Eventually Allura emerged from the shower, and playfully threw herself across the couch with a loud exhale. Her head rested in his lap, and once he’d gotten over his initial embarrassment, he started to run his fingers through her damp hair. 

“That feels good,” she said, as she shut her eyes. A small smile was teasing at the corner of her lips. 

He hummed. That smile looked good on her, but then again, so did all of her smiles. “Do you want me to cook dinner tonight?”

“Alright, but I’ll do the dishes afterwards,” she grinned. “That way it’s fair.”

Laughing quietly, he couldn’t help but bend over and press a chaste kiss to her forehead. She beamed up at him, and hooked a hand around the back of his neck to draw him in for a proper kiss. Her affections were unbridled, and they made his face feel warm. “Sounds fine to me.”

Allura only grinned wider.


	49. Panther

“I didn’t know you had a cat.”

Allura peered her head out onto the balcony, and laughed at the sight of the sleek, black cat Shiro was petting. “Oh, that’s Panther. He’s kind of the neighbourhood cat, but when the landlord is concerned he’s mine. I feed him most of the time.”

Shiro smiled a little, and gently rubbed behind one of Panther’s pointed ear. The cat was rather large, and he had a mark on his nose that reminded Shiro of his own scar. He’d been rather surprised to find the cat sitting on Allura’s balcony while he cooked, but it was a sweet creature, and he’d been pleasantly surprised to find that it was incredibly friendly.

Allura came over and crouched down beside him. She reached out a delicate hand to scratch under Panther’s chin, making the cat let out an enthusiastic purr. “He’s a sweet guy. He gets along with all the other cats here.”

“What happened to his nose?”

“It was like that when we first noticed him,” Allura said, sighing. “I’m pretty sure his last owner must have hurt him. He didn’t like humans so much before, but everyone here is really friendly, and he warmed up to us quite quick. He’s fond of humans now, I think.”

Shiro nodded. He did seem like a sweet cat. “Does he come by often?”

“Every day,” she laughed. “He’s very dedicated, you know. He sleeps inside my house when it’s the dead of winter. I tried to buy him a cat bed, but he prefers a towel on the floor! He’s quite a simple man to please.”

Shiro laughed too, and smiled to himself. Panther looked incredibly pleased with all the attention he was receiving. 

“I should feed him now,” Allura said, standing again. “Thankfully he’s not too fussy when it comes to cat food. He really likes the ones packed in jelly.”

He chuckled, and stood back up. He had to get back to cooking dinner, but seeing little parts of Allura’s life – like Panther and his preference for jelly-packed food – made him feel really warm inside. There were so many things he could still learn about Allura, and that was perhaps more exciting than anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the string of short updates QwQ I completely burnt myself out with something else I was working on, but I still wanted to update one of my Voltron fics everyday, so Kindergarten was my victim. Now that the other piece is done I have more energy to give to these fics, but tomorrow's might be short as well, as I won't be home. Sorry in advance ^^"
> 
> It will be the fiftieth chapter though... If anyone has any ideas for it, feel free to send them to me! I hope I can make it something special aha


	50. Heart

Shiro had always known that Allura’s birthday was approaching. He’d had it sneakily marked on his calendar since he first heard the date mentioned in a passing conversation, countless months ago. It was something that came to mind when he woke up with a face full of Allura’s tangled hair and her head nestled against his shoulder. 

_I could get used to this._

But birthday celebrations, first. He’d bought her a gift a while ago, on a whim – for a while he hadn’t known what he could get her, but he’d seen a piece of jewellery in a shop window that would be perfect for her. It was one of the things he’d made sure to pack after his house had flooded, and now it was resting safely cushioned in the bottom of his bag.

He wondered when he should give it to her. It was the weekend now, and her birthday was tomorrow. He was meant to go home tomorrow, but maybe he could stay for the day and cook for her. Would she mind?

“You’re thinking so hard you woke me up,” Allura mumbled around a yawn. She rubbed her nose against his shoulder and rolled onto her side to face him. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” he said, laughing quietly. “Sorry for waking you.”

She shook her head. There was a sleepy smile on her face. “It’s grocery day today,” she said. “Do you want to come shopping with me?”

“Sure,” he chuckled. “Want me to go make breakfast?”

She nodded, and yawned again. After he pressed a soft, self-indulgent kiss to her forehead, he slipped out of bed. It was such a small thing, grocery shopping, and usually quite a chore, but he found himself looking forward to it. 

After breakfast – and tea too, because Allura had insisted – they made the short walk to the grocery store. He was surprised to find it right around the corner, nestled in between a florist and a bakery. He’d never been to this side of the neighbourhood, but it was very picturesque. Allura seemed to fit right in to the sweet environment. 

The food in the grocery seemed to all be from a farmers market. There was the smell of freshly baked bread in the air, and Shiro was more than happy to fill their basket with such nice food. He made sure to take note of the brands Allura liked, and even managed to convince her to let him add chocolate chip cookies to their basket.

He carried most of the bags on the way home, even though Allura had protested. If he were being honest, he kind of liked being able to carry her things for her, mostly because it made him feel like he was doing something helpful. Eventually she let him, though it was only with a light slap on the shoulder and a small laugh.

Panther was sitting at the bottom of the entryway stairs to the apartment block, and he greeted them with a small chirrup when they approached. Allura stopped to pet him for a moment, before they continued up the stairs.

“Do you feel like chicken for dinner tonight?” Allura asked, as they started to ascend the stairs.

“Sounds nice,” Shiro said, smiling pleasantly. “Want me to cook again?”

“You can help me make it, if you like,” she said grinning. “If that’s not enough, then you can do the dishes!”

He laughed. She seemed to have cottoned on to the fact that he wanted to be useful, but Shiro didn’t mind. He liked taking care of people, especially after he’d been taken care of when his accident had happened. And he really liked Allura, so taking care of her made him happy.

“We can have those cookies you picked for dessert,” Allura continued, as they reached the top of the stairwell. “I’m sure I have cat treats around somewhere for Panther too…”

Shiro was watching Allura when he probably should have been watching where he was going. He would have noticed the old woman falling from the top stair if he had.

“Shiro, watch out!” Allura cried.

He’d dropped the shopping bags before he’d even realised what he was doing and thrust out his right arm. The old woman fell into his grip with no problem, and after a small moment of struggle she was back on her feet, but Shiro’s arm _ached._ Something in his shoulder had twisted, and suddenly he couldn’t stop his prosthetic hand from trembling. 

“Are you alright?” He asked through a strained smile. He recognised the woman as one of Allura’s neighbours, but he couldn’t recall her name.

“I’m fine, thanks to you,” she said, as she took a hold of the railing. “Thank you for helping me.”

“It’s no problem. Make sure to be careful.”

Allura greeted the woman for a moment, before the woman was on her way. 

Shiro reached for the bags he dropped, and struggled to hide a wince as pain shot up his arm. Something had definitely been pulled the wrong way, and it was excruciating.

“Shiro? Are you okay?” Allura asked, peering at him with a worried look on her face as he struggled with the bags.

He tried to smile again. “I’m fine, I’m fine. It was just unexpected, that’s all.”

She clearly didn’t seem convinced, and took one of the heavier bags from him.

He’d hurt his arm before. Despite the attachment surgery going well, he still experienced pain when he strained his shoulder too much. It felt like someone was trying to pull the prosthetic completely off, and all he wanted to do was curl up around it.

After managing to somehow help Allura put the groceries away, he escaped into the bedroom. He needed to get himself together before she realised he’d hurt himself. He didn’t want anything to go wrong before her birthday, especially not because of him.

But his shoulder really did ache. He sat on the edge of the bed and gripped it with his hand, dazedly watching the way his arm was trembling. This had happened before, and eventually the ache would drift away, but he had no way to tell how long that would be.

_Dammit._

“Shiro?”

He jumped at the sound of Allura’s quiet voice, and fixed his eyes to the floor. “Sorry.”

She pushed the bedroom door open wider, and inched inside. “Don’t apologise,” she said. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

He hated all the problems his arm caused him. It made him feel weak and vulnerable, not to mention it was hideous. She hadn’t seen the scars on his skin, or the way the prosthetic looked where it was attached. How could anybody love that part of him?

Allura pressed closer, and tilted his chin up. “Does it hurt?”

Regretfully, he nodded. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head again, and tentatively rested her hand against her shoulder. Somehow, her gentle touch didn’t hurt at all. “I already told you – if this hurts you, then tell me, alright? The thought of you being in pain upsets me.”

His eyes grew damp with frustration, and he looked away. “Why? I hate this thing.”

Allura was quiet for a moment. “Show me,” she said.

He startled, his eyes going wide a little, but Allura was already reaching for the bottom of his shirt. He felt tangled up in her actions, and before he knew it, she’d stripped off his shirt and exposed his disgusting scar. The feeling of it under her gaze made him shrink.

Allura’s hand gently returned to his shoulder. Her fingers traced the lightest lines over the place where the prosthetic met his rough skin. “See, that wasn’t so bad,” she whispered. Hesitantly, she pressed a kiss to his forehead. “There’s not a single part about you that I don’t like, Shiro.”

His heart thumped, and he hid his face in her chest. His arm was still shaking uncontrollably, but Allura’s light touches were helping a lot. She held him for as long as he needed her, and didn’t complain if her shirt got wet. Eventually, the trembles started to die down, and he drew away. “Can you bring me my bag please?”

She seemed surprised by the request, but didn’t say no, and brought him his bag. As he riffled through it with his good hand, she took a seat beside him.

“I got something for you,” he said quietly, as he pulled the gift bag out from its safe little spot. “It’s meant to be for your birthday, but now’s as good a time as any, isn’t it?”

Allura’s eyes widened. “You know it’s my birthday tomorrow?”

He flushed, but nodded his head. 

Carefully, she took the bag from him. “You didn’t have to get me anything,” she said.

He shrugged, but winced a little at the jolt it gave his shoulder. When his expression smoothed out, he said, “I wanted to. Open it?”

She did. After digging through light coloured tissue paper, she found the soft box in the bottom of the bag, and pulled it free. Her eyes darted up to his for a moment as she cradled the box, before she opened it.

Inside was a silver bracelet. The chain was sturdy, but elegant in appearance, and dangling from the centre was a heart pendant. Nestled in the middle of the heart was a blue stone – blue just like her pretty eyes. It had been what drew Shiro to it in the first place, because it reminded him so much of her. If any stone could ever possibly be as beautiful as her eyes, he thought that one might be it.

“Shiro,” she said, her voice soft and breathless. “It’s so beautiful.”

A feeling of relief fluttered through him. “Do you like it?”

She nodded. Her eyes were still on the bracelet, but there was a delicate flush coming to her cheeks, and her eyes were sparkling. It was a stunning look on her.

“I’m glad,” he said. “Happy birthday, Allura.”

A gentle smile touched her face. She carefully pulled the bracelet from the box, and set the box aside before turning to face him. “Will you put it on for me?”

He wanted to, but his hand was so shaky… Still, he’d try. He took the bracelet between his fingers and slipped it around the wrist she extended. He could get a perfect grip on it with his normal hand, but his prosthetic was shaky, and the chain kept slipping from his fingers.

Allura’s hand suddenly overlapped his. “Take your time,” she said.

It was the encouragement he needed. After sucking in a sharp breath, he tried again, and somehow managed to slip the clasp together around her wrist. When it was secure, Allura drew her wrist back, and turned it to admire the pendant. 

“Thank you, Shiro,” she said, as she twisted to put her arms around him. He could feel the bracelet, cold against his back. “I love it.”

“I’m glad,” he said again, as he put his good arm around her. He pressed his face against her shoulder, and took comfort in her soft scent and the warmth of her skin. How did he get so lucky? She didn’t care about his ugly scars, or how his arm sometimes didn’t cooperate. She’d always been patient with him, and never shied away from the wound like other people did. He wondered when he’d let his heart be swept away with her. “I love you.”

She startled, and pulled back with a wide-eyed look on her face. “I love you too,” she said, blinking several times. Her eyes looked wet, but she was smiling.

And he couldn’t help but smile too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe there's fifty chapters already ahh ^^" I hope this one celebrates that well enough! ❤


	51. Boundaries

Shiro stayed up quite late that night. He pretended to sleep after going to bed with Allura, but remained awake even after her breathing had evened out.

It was her birthday tomorrow. Today? He wasn’t quite sure how late it had gotten, but his mind felt too active to rest. There wasn’t anything in particular that was bothering him, either, but he thought he simply might have been too exhausted to sleep.

He hadn’t been so shaken in a while. Maybe it was because he hadn’t ever let himself think about his weaknesses for so long, let alone in front of someone else. Allura’s reassurance was comforting, of course it was, but he still felt a little overwhelmed. He didn’t regret letting Allura see him like that, because it was going to happen sooner or later, but it was still a lot to take in.

He was glad Allura had reacted the way she had, though. Somehow, she made him feel better about the whole situation. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to see his prosthetic as anything other than an artificial add-on, but maybe Allura could show him how. She’d never treated any part of him as anything other than human, than purely Shiro. 

Perhaps it was sappy of him, but he felt like he was someone special to her. She didn’t recoil at the sight of his scars and wasn’t put off by the coldness of his prosthetic. He’d never had anyone help him like she did, and he hadn’t even asked her to. It was like she’d instinctively known what she could do to make him feel better, and hadn’t hesitated to do it.

He hoped he’d be able to help her like that one day, too. Looking at her as she was, peaceful and sleeping, made that feeling in him grow. She looked so comfortable, with her head turned towards him and one of her legs tangled between his. He didn’t think she could have find a more comfortable position to be in, and oddly enough, it worked for him too. He had his prosthetic tucked under their pillows and his other arm stretched out beside him, though he could reach for her if he wanted to. 

Absentmindedly, he turned his face into her hair and sighed. These late night musings were keeping him up, and he wanted to be well rested for tomorrow. He’d ask if he could stay for another night, just for her birthday, if she wanted… and cook her breakfast, too. He’d already given her the gift he’d bought, but they didn’t mean he couldn’t do other nice things. Maybe if he woke up before her, he could duck down to that florist beside the grocery store, and buy her flowers. 

“Shiro?” Allura mumbled, as she sleepily blinked open her eyes. “Are you still awake?”

He hummed, and rolled onto his side to face her. “Did I wake you?”

She shook her head, and pressed against him. Their legs tangled together again, knees bumping. “Go to sleep,” she ordered. If she hadn’t had such a cute, sleepy voice, he might have thought she was ordering him around, but as it was he just chuckled.

“Alright,” he whispered, as he put his arm around her waist. “Happy birthday, by the way. It’s past midnight.”

She smiled at that, and tilted her chin up. 

Obligingly, Shiro gave her a chaste kiss. “Goodnight,” he murmured.

“Goodnight, Shiro. Love you.”

His heart jumped a little. Those words still felt foreign, but they made his skin tingle pleasantly. “I love you too.”

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he exposed the parts of himself he’d always kept hidden from others. If he gave her that trust, he felt like she’d respect it, and that she would never push his boundaries farther than he could stand. That was more than he could ever ask for.


	52. Princess

Shiro did wake up early that next morning. He felt well slept, despite his restlessness the previous night, so much so that he didn’t regret leaving the bed just about the moment he woke up. He had things he wanted to do, after all.

While Allura was still asleep, he ducked out to buy flowers. The florist was open despite the early time, and the store owner recognised him from the day before. With a delighted smile, they suggested him Allura’s favourites – a pretty arrangement of freshly cut hydrangeas – and asked him to wish Allura a happy birthday for them. He was quite pleased with the flowers as he walked back home.

Allura was still asleep when he returned, so he rooted around for a vase, left the flowers on the kitchen table and started cooking breakfast. He knew she liked pancakes, and they were the quickest thing he could think to cook, so he made those. She had a lot of fresh fruit, so he sliced up strawberries and bananas and set them aside for later.

The sleeping beauty herself wandered out just as he was pouring in the last batch of batter to the pan. “Shiro?” She asked sleepily, and she shuffled over.

He put his free arm around her waist and pulled her closer so that he could press a kiss to her forehead. “Happy birthday,” he said, grinning.

She blinked several times, as if she’d forgotten all about her birthday herself, but then she slowly matched his grin. “Thank you,” she said, as she put her arms around his waist. “Did you make all of this this morning?”

He nodded. “My mother would always cook me a fresh breakfast on my birthday.”

“Mine too,” she said. She hid her smile in the crook of his neck, and didn’t move away even when he returned to cooking. Her bare feet must have been cold against the tiled floor, but she didn’t seem to mind much. Her company was quite welcome.

When everything was ready, he took the plate of cooked pancakes and led her to the table. The strawberries and bananas were already sitting by their plates, and he’d found lemon juice, which he placed next to the sugar jar.

Allura caught sight of the flowers, and let out a curious noise as she lifted the vase and gently ran her fingers through the soft hydrangea petals. “You got these too?”

He nodded again. “The florist said you like hydrangeas.”

“They’re my favourite,” she said.

“They said to wish you a happy birthday, too.”

She laughed, and set the vase down. “I feel like a princess,” she said, as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over her wrist. She didn’t sleep with the bracelet Shiro had given her on, but it seemed that she hadn’t left the bedroom without putting it back on.

Feeling particularly confident because of Allura’s enchanting smiles, Shiro couldn’t help but cheekily say, “You are my princess.”

As embarrassing as it was, it did make her laugh. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were bright and now her fingers were playing with the heart pendant on her bracelet. She looked happy, and that made Shiro happy. There was nothing else that he could have asked for.

The pancakes tasted good, if he did say so himself. There were some left over afterwards, but he popped them back in the fridge to eat later. They did eat all the fruit, though, even if it wasn’t with the pancakes. 

“So what do you want to do today?” He asked, as he cleared away the dishes for her and took a seat back at the table. “We can do anything you want.”

She wandered over, and leaned across the back of his chair to stretch her arms over his shoulders. “I haven’t thought that far ahead,” she said, as she nuzzled against his cheek. “Can we stay here this morning and figure it out?”

He laughed quietly, and held onto her arms. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is!” She said. She pressed her nose against the back of his neck where his hair was short, and laughed when he jumped.

“It tickles,” he complained.

She grinned mischievously. “Noted.”

And what a breathtaking grin she had.


	53. Monkey

The kids had presents for Allura come Monday morning. Shiro had stayed over for the extra night after spending a day out with Allura, even though he could have gone home. He’d returned to his freshly-cleaned house afterwards, but he felt incredibly satisfied. He’d enjoyed his time with Allura over the weekend, and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, if she ever offered.

Shiro was happy to step back and watch as the kids gave their presents to Allura. Even his little group had gotten her a box of chocolates and a home-made card, with a little drawing from each inside. It was good to see Allura so happy as she crouched beside the class of kids. She had perfume and necklaces and even a flower crown in her arms too, along with all the other cards she’d received.

Coran joined him where he was leaning against the wall to watch Allura and the children as well. “That’s a nice bracelet she’s got on her wrist,” he observed.

Shiro flushed, and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought she might like it,” he said. She was still wearing it, and seeing it on her wrist that morning had made him ridiculously happy.

“I’m sure she does,” Coran laughed. He was watching Allura fondly. “You know, I haven’t seen her look like that before.”

Shiro made a curious noise, and turned his eyes to Coran. “How so?”

“Well, her parents were very busy people when she was younger,” he said, “so I helped raise her. I was very present in her life, even more so after her mother died. She used to call me Uncle, though she’s grown out of that now.”

Shiro chuckled. He did get that Uncle vibe from Coran. He was very good at taking care of everyone, after all. Shiro wasn’t particularly surprised that Coran had been a very strong presence throughout Allura’s childhood.

“So I’m glad to see her happy like this,” Coran continued. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s always been a very resilient and joyful person, but this… is different. She’s never particularly had a relationship – which isn’t a bad thing of course – but it’s reassuring to know that there’s going to be someone who’ll take care of her if she needs it.”

A smile touched Shiro’s face. Hearing that from Coran meant a lot. He wanted to make Allura as happy as she made him, and Coran’s faith in him certainly was a confidence boost. 

The day continued quite pleasantly. After lunch was served, the kids were allowed outside to play. Shiro was supervising them, so after making sure sunscreen had been applied and hats were put on, he wandered out there to watch them.

“Shiro, help us on the monkey bars!” Lance said, as he tugged at the bottom of Shiro’s shirt.

“Alright, alright, don’t rush,” Shiro laughed. They had play equipment under a covered area in the backyard. The ground was covered in woodchips, but the area under the monkey bars had been worn clean, so falling could cause a few stung feet. The kids often asked for help to get along them, if they couldn’t themselves.

As per usual, it was a fight to see whether Keith or Lance would go first. And as per usual, they both jostled and shoved as they went across the bars together. It never failed to amuse Shiro, but he was sure to stand on Lance’s side, knowing that he couldn’t always get across them by himself.

That time was one of the times when Shiro needed to put his arm around Lance’s waist to hold him to the end. Lance was pouting when both he and Keith touched ground again, before he brazenly cried, “I want a rematch!”

Pidge was next. He didn’t particularly like doing such physical activities, but he didn’t want to miss out with his friends either, so he always gave it a go. He made it about halfway before his hands started to slip, and Shiro lurched forwards to grab him by the legs and hold him upright. Pidge didn’t seem to mind too much, and kept a concentrated look on his face as he moved his hands along the bars.

Hunk went last, mostly because he was the most patient of the four. He was a strong kid and could hold himself up on the bars no problem, but he didn’t particularly like having his feet off the ground. Shiro held him up from the start, and carefully shuffled along under the bars as Hunk carefully moved his hand from bar to bar. Hunk always thanked him afterwards, which was sweet of him. He was probably the most polite out of the four, too.

Soon enough, the kids tired of the monkey bars, and moved to play on the swing set instead (though Lance and Keith had their “rematch” first). They didn’t need Shiro to help them with that, so he stepped out of the woodchip area and set to watching over the kids again.

It struck him, as he watched and listened to them laugh, that he really loved his job. There weren’t many people who would give someone with his handicap a chance to be around children straight off the bat, but Alfor, Allura and Coran had. He was incredibly lucky to have this job, because he loved it so much, loved the kids and the atmosphere.

He supposed the only challenge he really had was keeping Lance and Keith from arguing with each other.


	54. Movies

They had a movie marathon one afternoon. With Christmas approaching, every movie was holiday themed, and the children loved it. Piled together in the recreation room, they sat in their groups on the huge beanbags, peacefully sharing the healthy snacks and candy canes Coran had passed out.

Shiro was on supervision duty, so he got to sit with them. He supposed he had the easiest job of the afternoon, especially compared to cleaning and bookkeeping, but he wouldn’t complain. He liked to spend time with the kids, after all, and the movies were sweet.

Pidge and Hunk were pretty satisfied with watching movies. They sat together in front of the beanbag with their backs resting on it, each with a candy cane. Pidge had a drawing pad rested across his knees, and was busy drawing some sort of machine in between glances at the television. Shiro watched him for a while, curious, and wondered exactly what it was that Pidge was designing. Hunk was watching Pidge too, and seemed content as he was.

It was Lance and Keith that were the real noisy ones. Firstly, they’d argued about where they were going to sit. Shiro had waited patiently for a while – because they’d decided that their little group would share a beanbag again – before simply taking a seat on the edge. He left Lance and Keith up to deciding, and in the end, Lance had sat in the middle, and Keith had sat on the other side.

They really did need to make everything so difficult, but deep down he didn’t mind all that much.

Now, however, they were bickering over the position of their blankets. 

“No, Keith, you have to share it!”

“But why? You have one too.”

“That’s not the spirit of Christmas!”

“Why are you using Pidge’s blanket anyway?”

“Uh? Because Christmas is red and green? Duh.”

Shiro sighed. Their conversations were amusing, if nothing else. They were lucky that Pidge was in a sharing mood, otherwise there was no way Lance would have gotten his green blanket. “How about I go get you guys a drink?” He suggested, as he stood. His voice distracted them from their blanket problem, and he immediately got “Yes, please!” from the two of them.

Hunk stood too. “I’ll help!” He said with a shy grin.

Shiro smiled. “Thanks, buddy. Pidge, do you want a drink too?”

Pidge shook his head. “No, thank you.”

After checking if the rest of the kids wanted something to drink, Shiro and Hunk made their way to the kitchen. There were small bottles of juice stored in the fridge, which he had Coran pass over the bench for him and Hunk to carry.

“How’s the movie going?” Allura asked as she peered around through the kitchen doorway.

Shiro handed her one of the juice bottles, which she took. “All good.”

“Are you enjoying it, Hunk?”

Hunk grinned up at Allura, and nodded. “Yeah! You should come watch too, Miss Allura.”

She laughed. “We will when we’re finished, right, Coran?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Coran promised.

Hunk grinned. He had a big smile, one that produced dimples and showed off his youthful face. He had quite a happy smile, because he was quite a happy child.

“Come on, let’s get back to everyone,” Shiro said, as he picked up the tray of drinks. “Lance and Keith have probably taken the entire beanbag by now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly starting to run out of ideas for this so feel free to send me some at my [tumblr!](http://milkteamiku.tumblr.com/) ❤


	55. Hero

Sometimes, Shiro wondered what would happen to the kids when they got older and became more aware of the world around them. While he had no doubts that his kids were each quite intelligent, there were things that worried him. It wasn’t any fault of theirs, of course, but as an adult, he knew there were things that some parts of society looked down on.

Homosexual relationships, for example.

The more Shiro watched Lance, the more he thought Lance might fall out of that perfect, heterosexual role many people put their children in. At the very least, he thought Lance might grow up with a heart that could love anyone, regardless of gender. In particular, he seemed quite attached to Keith.

It really wasn’t a bad thing, but some backwards people believed that it was. Lance could sometimes be susceptible to the attitudes of other people, and anyone throwing a negative light on him would surely cause him to become troubled. Shiro didn’t ever want him to doubt himself or how he loved other people, so it was a worrying thought. 

One evening, while Lance was gathering his things, his mother came to talk to Shiro.

“I wanted to ask you a favour,” she said, as she gave him an apprehensive look.

Shiro set aside the paperwork he’d been filling out and gestured for her to take a seat in Allura’s desk chair. When she did, he said, “Of course. Is it about Lance?”

She nodded. “I’ve always known that Lance is a little different from the other kids,” she started hesitantly. “But he’s been a bit upset lately, and I’m worried he’s going to start developing self-esteem issues.”

Shiro frowned. “How so?”

“We were out the other day when he saw some… homophobic behaviour,” she said carefully. There was a frown pulling at her lips. “And now I’m worried that he thinks it’s wrong if he likes someone other than a girl. I know he’s young, but kids are impressionable…”

“I understand,” Shiro said. He’d had somewhat of the same concerns, and knew that parents with open minds often worried about things like that, especially if their kids were showing signs of being different at young ages. Seeing something negative might fade into nothing like it sometimes did with children, but it might have also left a lasting impression, which was something that neither of them wanted for Lance. “What can I do to help?”

She rubbed the back of her neck, and gave him a sheepish smile. “Well, I was just hoping you could talk to him for a bit? To see if he’s alright.”

“Why me?”

“He thinks of you as his hero,” she said with a small laugh. “Never stops talking about you, you know. Says he wants to grow up to be like Shiro.”

He flushed. “D-does he?”

“Of course. Don’t tell him I told you though, he’ll get upset with me.”

Shiro laughed a little. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Lance gave his mother an adorably suspicious look as she herded him out of the kindergarten. Shiro waved goodbye to the both of them before returning to the office and falling down heavily into his chair. His face felt red, and he couldn’t help but place his hand over his mouth for a moment.

He was Lance’s _hero._

Just the thought of that sent a thrill of pride through him unlike any other.


	56. Talk

The next day, Shiro started to notice that Lance was a little down. Maybe he’d hidden it yesterday, or he’d been distracted by their activities, but that day Shiro keep a close eye on him. He was worried for Lance, especially after his chat with Lance’s mother.

It wasn’t like Lance was particularly… withdrawn. But he did act a little differently. He seemed more aware of his actions, like he suddenly didn’t want to come on too forwardly, like he usually did. It was like he was second guessing himself, when he certainly hadn’t used to.

It left Shiro a little dismayed. Lance was always so bright and cheerful, and he never held back with his affection, but now he was. While it was only a small change, it was enough to worry Shiro, because things like that tended to snowball as one got older. No matter what, he never wanted Lance to doubt his feelings. Shiro had done enough of that himself over the years, and there was no way he wanted Lance to experience the same thing.

During the afternoon, when the kids went outside to play, Shiro pulled Lance aside. Keith tried to follow, looking puzzled, but Shiro urged him away with a reluctant smile. 

“Did I do something wrong, Shiro?” Lance asked, as Shiro lifted him onto his desk chair in the office. 

Shiro pulled Allura’s chair over and took a seat before speaking. “No you haven’t, Lance. But I do want to talk, and I want you to be honest with me.”

Lance blinked at him, and nodded. “Okay.”

“Your mother told me you saw something bad happen the other day,” Shiro started. “Is that true?”

Lance glanced down, looking forlorn. He seemed a little shaken by Shiro’s question, but after a moment, he nodded. “Boys shouldn’t be with boys,” he said, voice small and miserable. “It’s not right.”

Shiro sighed, and pried Lance’s hands away from the edge of his seat. “Lance, that’s not true,” he said.

It didn’t seem like Lance believed him. He wouldn’t meet Shiro’s eyes, and didn’t move to hold Shiro’s hands like he usually would have.

After a moment of thought, Shiro sighed again. “Lance, do you know the difference between right and wrong?”

“Yeah,” Lance said tentatively. “You and Allura and Coran always tell us.”

“Can you give me an example of doing something right?”

“Maybe… helping someone clean up?”

“Good,” Shiro nodded, giving him a small smile. “That is doing something right. What about doing something wrong? Can you tell me an example of that?”

Lance was quiet for a moment, and a frown appeared in his brow. “Calling someone a name?”

Shiro nodded again. “Yes, that’s correct. You understand that when people say mean things, they are doing something wrong.”

Tentatively, Lance nodded.

“Then, if someone is saying that loving boys when you are a boy is bad, that they are wrong,” Shiro said. “That when someone says something to hurt your feelings, they are doing something wrong.”

“But everyone has a mama and a papa, not two papas,” Lance said.

“Only the people you’ve met have a mother and a father,” Shiro said gently. “That doesn’t mean other people don’t have two mothers, or two fathers. There are lots of people with two papas, you know.”

“Really?” Lance asked quietly, his eyes big and hopeful.

Shiro nodded. “Of course. Have I ever lied to you?”

Lance shook his head.

For a moment, Shiro was painfully aware that he was someone Lance really looked up to. “It doesn’t matter if you love boys, or if you love girls, or if you love neither,” he said, “as long as you’re honest, and kind, and that you consider other people’s feelings too. Okay?”

“Okay,” Lance said.

“Promise you believe me?”

He nodded again.

Shiro held out his left hand, and extended his pinkie. “Pinkie promise?”

Lance giggled, and looped their pinkies together. “Okay!”

Shiro smiled again, feeling relieved. “Good job, buddy.”

Lance stretched forwards and put his arms around Shiro’s waist. “Thanks Shiro,” he said.

Carefully, Shiro put his arms around Lance too, and cradled the back of his head. He sometimes forgot just how small Lance was, because despite his brave attitude, he was still just a child. “No problem, Lance,” he said. “I’ll always be here if you need me.” He pushed Lance away, and smiled again. “Now go and play, alright? I’m sure Keith is bored without you.”

Lance grinned, and was off, no doubt to find his friend.

Shiro leaned back in his chair, and let out a deep breath. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and really hoped that his words had gotten through to Lance, that he would remember them. He wanted Lance to be happy, no matter who he loved, because there would always be someone to love him in return.

It was impossible not to.


	57. Blocks

Pidge’s building skills always came into play when the building blocks were out. Most of the kids were just a tad too old to be completely interested in them, instead preferring hula hoops or soccer balls or board games, but Pidge absolutely loved things like the building blocks.

He was good at creating things. He was always drawing up designs and had probably seen Matt’s schematics and blue prints dozens of times. When they had blocks or something similar out for the kids to play with, Pidge was always first in line. He was generally a quiet kid, so most of the other children let him have them to himself. Of course, Lance, Keith and Hunk usually hung around to play with him too, but they weren’t as fond of building toys like Pidge was. 

Today was one of those days Shiro had gotten the building blocks out. Usually the kids would have been allowed to play outside, but it was raining, so they had indoor activities instead. Most of the children were content with a movie, or with dolls, or craft supplies. Lance and Keith had their action figures out, and were carefully guiding them through the block structures Pidge was making. Hunk was helping out where he could, but he was pretty handy too, and was making little sculptures to compliment Pidge’s creations.

Whenever Shiro had a free moment, he found himself drifting over to watch Pidge work. He’d been friends with Matt for years, even before they were in the Garrison, and Shiro could see a lot of him in Pidge. He knew that Pidge looked up to Matt, so it was no surprise he was interested in the same things. 

Sometimes Pidge asked him about Matt, too. With work and his studies, Matt hadn’t been home for a while, and Shiro knew Pidge missed him. For what it was worth, phone calls and stories and shared memories seemed to help Pidge with that lonely feeling. 

Allura came over to join him where he was standing. The kids were seated on cushions on the floor quite contentedly, and they hadn’t seemed to notice either of the adults. “That’s a pretty complex castle,” Allura observed, as she leaned her shoulder against Shiro’s. “How long did it take him to make that?”

“About half an hour, maybe a little less,” Shiro said. Pride coloured his voice, but how could he not be proud? He remembered when Pidge was born and Matt had messaged him dozens of cute pictures. Maybe he was proud for Matt.

“Wow,” Allura exclaimed, her eyebrows raised. “That’s pretty fast.”

Shiro nodded. “He’s really good at building things like that,” he said. “I bet he’ll take after Matt.”

“His older brother?”

“Yeah.”

“You know him well, right?”

Shiro laughed a little. “I guess you could say that. We were roommates when I was in the Garrison, and then we were assigned to the same squad. We went to the same school too.”

Allura laughed too. “No wonder Pidge likes you so much! He was pretty quiet before you came here, you know. I think you put him at ease.”

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. “I sure hope so.” He hadn’t known Pidge was different before he came, but he supposed it made sense. He was a familiar person, after all, and with Pidge’s identity struggles it must have been reassuring to have him around. He’d never thought about it that way before, though.

Allura patted his arm once, before heading back to whatever she had been doing before. He watched her go with a fond look, before turning to watching the children. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to take a little break from cleaning. 

Besides, even if he wasn’t interacting with the kids, he did love seeing them get along like they were.


	58. Cookie

With Christmas swiftly approaching, a lot of the activities they offered the children at the kindergarten had become Christmas inspired. The kids would be baking cookies that afternoon, mostly in thanks to Coran’s suggestion of doing so the previous day.

While the kids played outside after lunch, Shiro set up tables with everything the kids would need to bake. They had equal amounts of ingredients and things like cookie cutters and chocolate buttons to decorate the biscuits. The kids would be too impatient for the biscuits to bake, so they’d also bought pre-made ones that the children could decorate with icing and sprinkles in the meantime. 

He made sure to have extra blue and red icing on the table for his kids, though. He had a feeling that Lance and Keith would solely use those colours just like usual, after all. 

When Allura brought the kids in, they were clearly excited. This activity would mostly be headed by Coran, who stood in the centre of the room to instruct the kids on the proper amounts of ingredients to use and when to use them. Shiro made sure to check in on the kids with every step they did, knowing that they could sometimes get the readings on measuring cups wrong.

Mostly, everything went smoothly. He and Allura had to help with mixing the dough, but as soon as it was ready, the kids happily began to make their cookies.

“I’m making a lion!” Lance said, as he showed Shiro the shapes of dough he’d created.

From the right angle it sort of looked like a lion with a huge mane, so Shiro smiled. “Good job, buddy,” he said. “Make sure you leave enough space around it on the baking tray so that it doesn’t touch the other cookies, yeah?”

Lance nodded, but he seemed too distracted to really hear Shiro. His tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth, and he was carefully centring chocolate chips as the lion’s eyes, so Shiro left him be.

“What about you, Pidge?” Shiro asked, as he peered over Pidge’s shoulder. “What are you making?”

“Rover,” Pidge said. He’d used one of the cookie cutters to make different sized circles, and was delicately making ears, legs, and a tail. “He’s our dog.”

“Looks good,” Shiro said. Pidge’s cookie looked pretty much like a dog, but he expected nothing less from the kid. “What about you, Hunk?”

“A snowman,” Hunk said, grinning broadly, “for Christmas!”

Of course Hunk would be the one to remember that the cookies were meant to be Christmas cookies. He and Pidge had shared the circle-shaped cookie cutters, which Hunk had used to make the body of his snowman. He was using little chocolate chips to make its face, and Shiro hoped that it would still look as good when it was baked.

“Keith?”

Keith frowned down at his creation, his head tilted to the side. “It’s meant to be a heart, but it doesn’t look like one,” he muttered.

Shiro moved around to look over his shoulder. He could see what Keith was trying to do, and hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe add more dough to this corner,” he said, pointing in the relevant direction, “and use one of the circle-shaped cookie cutters to round off the edge.”

Keith’s eyes widened, and he nodded. 

Shiro smiled, satisfied that his table was doing alright. Once the cookies had been baked, they could move onto decorating the pre-made ones. He hoped the kids would be just as peaceful when doing that, too.


	59. Icing

There was icing _everywhere._ Honestly, Shiro should have expected it to happen.

It wasn’t like the kids intentionally made a mess. It was just something that happened, wasn’t it? At least, that’s what Shiro told himself as he watched a complete and utter mess be made. The thought of having to clean it all later was not a thought he enjoyed having.

At least the children seemed to be enjoying themselves. They all had a packet of pre-made biscuits to share around their table, and enough decorating supplies to hopefully last the afternoon. Although, Shiro was pretty sure more sprinkles had ended up on the floor than on the biscuits.

Like he’d predicted, Lance and Keith used most of the blue and red decorations their table had. While Shiro wasn’t exactly sure what they made their biscuits into, they certainly were being quite creative. Pidge and Hunk were very straightforward with their designs – polka dots made from chocolate chips and snowmen made from icing and things of the like. 

The other two were less traditional with their creations. Lance’s hands were covered in icing and some had even gotten into the ends of Keith’s dark hair. Shiro didn’t even want to look at their jackets, knowing he’d need to scrub them clean again.

Shiro sighed, and leaned against the kitchen counter. He didn’t need to help the kids with decorating their biscuits, and was content to supervise them instead. 

“They sure are making a mess,” Coran observed, as he wandered into the kitchen to stand beside Shiro. He leaned on the bench too, and watched the kids work for a moment.

“Don’t remind me.”

Coran laughed. “Well, at least you don’t have to clean the kitchen.”

Shiro laughed too. “I suppose you’re right. How are the biscuits coming along?”

“Almost done now. Are they almost finished with the pre-made ones?”

“Well, I think it’s more like they’re running out of them,” Shiro laughed again. “But there should be enough icing for the homemade ones.”

“Good, good.”

When the biscuits were baked, Shiro helped Coran get them out of the oven and onto the cooling racks. Most of the biscuits came out unscathed, though they had to carefully cut a few apart. Once they were cooled enough, Shiro started bringing them out to the tables.

His kids seemed excited as he laid down the tray in the middle of their table, where they’d cleared a space. “Make sure not to handle them too roughly,” he said, as he withdrew his hands. “These ones might break if you drop them.”

“They look so good!” Hunk said. 

The chocolate chips they’d used to make faces had mostly melted, but it would be easy enough to cover with icing and new chocolate chips. The kids didn’t seemed fussed, either way.

While Shiro did enjoy watching all the kids decorate their cookies, he found himself watching Keith more than anyone else. Keith was playing special attention to the heart-shaped cookie he’d made, like he didn’t want to mess it up. He was using the coloured icing he’d squirreled away to decorate it, and after a moment, Shiro suddenly realised what exactly he was doing.

Half the heart was red, and the other half was blue.

Shiro watched with keen interest as Keith finally finished it. The piping bag he’d used to colour it in had left him with shaky lines, but for the most part, it looked pretty nice. He seemed quite proud of it too, if the flush on his cheeks was anything to go by. 

Then, unexpectedly, he turned to Lance.

“I made this for you,” Keith said, as he held out the cookie.

Lance gave him a puzzled look for a moment. Shiro’s heart lurched, thinking that Lance might reject Keith’s sweet offering, but then Lance’s face turned abruptly red, and he held out shaky hands for the present. “T-thanks!”

Keith’s eyes widened for a moment, and then he grinned, a bright, teeth-showing grin. Shiro had never seen him smile like that, and instantly felt like someone had grabbed for his heart. These kids were so damned _cute._ How could kids who constantly argued be so adorable? Ridiculous.

“You look like you’re having a heart attack or something there,” Allura said, as she sidled up beside him. “Something the matter?”

Shiro groaned, and slumped against her. “Keith gave Lance a heart cookie with their colours on it.”

Allura let out a snort, and comfortingly rubbed his back. “Seems like Lance shared it with him, too. Look, he gave Keith the blue half! What a sweetheart.”

Shiro only groaned again. He couldn’t stand it. He was suddenly glad they’d decided to make cookies, despite all the mess and all the cleaning he’d have to do later. “I feel like I should be offended,” Shiro muttered. 

Allura laughed, amused, and nuzzled his cheek for a moment. “Don’t worry, I made you a cookie too!”


	60. Lights

“You know, I’m sure you could reach here on your own.”

“Probably, but isn’t it more romantic this way?”

Shiro flushed, and let out a spluttering noise before turning away from Allura’s cheeky grin. He was helping her put up Christmas decorations in her home. It seemed like she’d left it to the very last minute, though he hadn’t put any up in his own home at all. If he were being honest, he enjoyed doing this. It _was_ romantic, even if he wouldn’t admit it out loud.

Allura just smiled at him knowingly, and returned to hanging baubles on her Christmas tree. She had a whole box full of mismatched ornaments that seemed to have been collected over generations. Shiro had riffled through it for a moment, trying to take it all in. Fleetingly, he had a thought that maybe she’d done the same thing he was when she was a child. It was a sweet thought.

While she decorated her tree, he hung glittery tinsel around the house. He knew she could have done it herself – she’d probably done it herself every year previous, after all – but he hadn’t hesitated before taking her offer to do it himself. Christmas was on a Sunday this year, but he didn’t really have any plans, so spending Friday evening with her was something he was definitely enjoying.

He’d bought her a Christmas present too, though it was at his home. He hadn’t known what to get her, but he’d settled on this perfume bundle – a woman at the store had recommended it to him with a knowing smile. It smelt really nice and soft, so he thought Allura might like it. He’d also asked Coran for a picture he could frame for Allura, and Coran had given him one of Allura, Alfor and himself at a past birthday of hers. It amused him to see that none of them had really changed; Coran even had his moustache back then. 

He hoped she liked the gifts, but he had a feeling that she would. He just had to find the right time to give them to her. Maybe he could drop them off tomorrow, if she wasn’t busy?

“What are you thinking about?” Allura asked, as she suddenly draped herself across his back. 

He was crouching, and wobbled on his feet for a moment as he gave her a bashful smile. “Nothing much,” he said. “Are you done with the tree?”

“Almost,” she said. She pressed the cold tip of her nose under his ear to make him laugh. “I have to put the star on top, but I can’t reach.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

“Will you put it up for me?”

He laughed again, and carefully stood. “I can do that.”

She grinned, and herded him towards the tree. The star was in the box still, and she carefully extracted it to give it to him. It clinked against his prosthetic hand, which made him wince a little, but Allura’s evident excitement was enough to overshadow that. When she was happy, he couldn’t help but be happy too.

It was easy enough to settle the star on top of the tree. He thought it might be unbalanced, but it was perfectly even, and stayed still when he pulled his hands away from it. For a moment, he simply let himself look at the tree. It looked beautiful, with all its mismatched decorations and blinking lights. It reminded him of the trees he’d had as a kid, and he found himself missing them.

He kind of liked the fact that Allura had let him put the star on the tree. It meant that everything was finished, that they’d completed what they’d set out to do. It was a very satisfying feeling, made even more so by Allura’s presence and her gentle encouragement. She had been the one to ask him to help her, not the other way around. It meant she wanted him around, right?

“Tree looks good,” she observed. “The entire house does.”

He nodded in agreement. “It does.”

Allura regarded him with a strange look in her eyes, before reaching out to push him over. He fell against the couch with a surprised noise, and watched Allura with a flustered, confused look in his eyes. She fell against the couch with him, somehow managing to squeeze herself onto the edge with just enough room to be comfortable. She had a smug smile on her face as she rested her chin on his chest.

“This is nice,” she said.

When he caught his breath again, he nodded. “Y-yeah.”

She hummed, and closed her eyes. Shiro ran his hand up and down her back, and took her quiet moment of obliviousness to unabashedly stare at her features. Her eyelashes were long and thick, and her cheeks were slightly red from the chill outside mixed with the warmth of inside. Her hair was tied up, but strands had fallen loose to frame her face. She looked beautiful, but that was no different from usual.

“What do you do for Christmas?” Allura asked him.

Shiro shrugged. “Not much, really. My parents live pretty far away so we usually lump birthdays and Christmases together, though I do call them, and send them gifts. Sometimes Matt will come over in between his family arrangements.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“I usually just spend it alone.”

She frowned.

“What about you?” He asked before she could say anything. He didn’t want to dwell on his situation. “What do you do for Christmas?”

“I usually have lunch with the family,” she said, glancing up at him. “My father always comes home for Christmas, and Coran joins us. Sometimes I join the family dinners we have afterwards too, though they’re usually reserved for someone’s partner’s family.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It is,” she said, smiling a little. “You’re welcome to join us, you know.”

He pursed his lips to stop the swell of _want_ from spilling from them. He didn’t want to intrude, so he said nothing, and simply immersed himself in the feeling of having her beside him. In the warmth of the room with the glowing Christmas lights, he felt at ease. She was a warm and solid presence beside him, one so steady he found he could never doubt her.

It really was quite romantic.


	61. Chat

“Shiro! It’s so nice to hear from you!”

He smiled, and rested his elbows against his benchtop. The room was dark because it was getting late, but it wasn’t too late at night to call his parents. “Hey,” he said. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” his mother replied cheerfully. “Your father, too, though he’s off doing something – who knows what! He’s always building something these days, you know.”

Shiro laughed quietly. His mother was a sweet woman, but she tended to go off on tangents without realising what she was doing. One moment they’d be talking about his day, and the next she’d be talking about the cruise they took five years ago, and how sunny it had been. He didn’t mind listening to her talk. She had a comforting, familiar voice.

“Have your presents arrived?” He asked.

“They have!” She said. He could hear the smile in her voice. “They’re sitting under our tree, I’ll send you a picture later. We’re going to open them tomorrow.”

“You’ll have to tell me what you think.”

“Of course I will! Speaking of which, has yours arrived yet? I sent it last week, but you know how those postmen are.”

He didn’t, but he made a noise of agreement anyway. “It arrived last Thursday,” he said. “The card, too.”

“Good! I’m glad.”

He smiled again. He missed his parents, and loathed the fact that he didn’t get to see them often. They’d both retired now, and came down to visit him often enough, but he was still struggling after his amputation. He’d had to rely on them for so long after his accident that afterwards, he’d needed to be alone. His mother hadn’t understood why he’d been like that, and had probably been hurt by his actions, but his father understood. 

“How have you been, anyway?” She asked. “The weather is getting colder now, right? Make sure you wear plenty of layers, and do your shoulder exercises. And put another quilt on your bed.”

“I know, I know,” he said. “It hasn’t been too cold. Depends on the day, really. Everything’s been fine, though. The kids are as cute as ever.”

“Oh? Are Lance and Keith still fighting?”

“Not as often!” He said. He still felt proud over them, though he wasn’t exactly sure why. “They get along a lot better now. I’m pretty sure Lance has a crush on Keith.”

She laughed. “How cute.”

“Mmm.”

He missed his parents. He’d started feeling less and less horrified about his arm these days, so maybe it wouldn’t be as bad travelling to see them. If he didn’t hate it so much, then his mother wouldn’t give him those pitiful looks, and his father wouldn’t turn his head away from Shiro’s suffering.

“There’s something else, too,” he said as casually as he could. 

“Oh? Has something happened at work?”

“Sort of,” he said. He was already smiling, and tried carefully to think of the right way to word what he wanted to say. “I’ve met someone.”

“Oh! Really? What’s she like?”

Shiro laughed. “Her name is Allura, she’s a co-worker of mine. She’s actually the boss’s daughter.”

“That doesn’t cause any trouble for you though, does it?”

“No, not at all,” he said. 

“Good, that’s reassuring. What’s she like? Is she nice? Is it serious?”

“She’s…” He sucked in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “She’s wonderful. All the kids love her, and she doesn’t care about- about my arm, or anything.”

His mother was quiet for a moment. “I’m glad,” she finally said. “She sounds lovely.”

“She is!” He said. “She’s beautiful. And when she smiles, it’s like- it’s like everyone is suddenly drawn to her, like they can’t help it. She’s just so beautiful.”

His mother laughed quietly again. “So it’s serious?”

“I think so. I just… we don’t really call it anything, but we’re together. Is that bad?”

“Not at all. Sounds like you’re both being very responsible.”

He nodded, though she couldn’t see him. “I really like her,” he admitted quietly. “I’ve never met anyone like her.”

“Will you spend Christmas with her? I know you never do anything. You don’t even have decorations up, do you?”

He glanced around his bare home, and winced. “I don’t,” he said. “But I don’t want to intrude on her family celebrations.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t feel that way.”

Allura probably didn’t, but Shiro couldn’t shake the feeling that he was stepping out of line, so he didn’t mention it again. For the rest of phone call, he listened to his mother talking about how she was doing, and gossipy things that had been happening. He talked to his father for a little while too, and told him about Allura. He wasn’t as excitable as Shiro’s mother, but he was happy enough that Shiro had found someone he really liked.

He wondered if Allura would be interested in meeting them someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate ❤ Hopefully I should be able to update this tomorrow too!


	62. Christmas

Shiro woke up late on Christmas morning. He hadn’t set his alarm and allowed himself the luxury of sleeping in well past when he usually would have. Oddly enough, he found that he enjoyed waking up slowly. He didn’t really have plans for the day, so it wasn’t like he needed to rush.

Until his doorbell suddenly rang. 

He wasn’t exactly dressed to answer the door – he’d only slept in loose pyjama pants – but after throwing on a shirt, he went to see who was ringing for him. Maybe a neighbour’s family member had gotten the wrong house, or a stray parcel was being delivered to the wrong address. It had happened before, so it wasn’t completely unexpected.

He didn’t expect, however, to find Allura standing on the other side of the door.

She was wearing a red scarf almost all the way up to her chin, and had a beanie tucked over her ears. It wasn’t too cold out, but there was a small, chilly wind. “Merry Christmas,” she said with a sweet smile.

“A-Allura? What are you doing here?” He asked, surprised. “Merry Christmas to you too.”

She grinned, and stepped inside. “Did I wake you? Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said. He was still surprised to see her. “Why are you here?”

“I want to spend Christmas with you,” she said. “So come with me.”

His felt his heart jump. “But-”

“Please?” She asked, before he could say anything else. “I know you feel like you’re intruding, but you’re important to me, and I don’t want you to spend Christmas alone when there’s a seat for you at our table. We’re family, aren’t we? Everyone else will ask where you are.”

Shiro’s heart fluttered. He wanted to be a part of her life like that, wanted to spend important time with her like that, but was it really alright for him to? “I-if you’re sure…”

Allura’s eyes widened. “You’ll really come?”

He nodded when he found he didn’t know what to say. Allura was offering him what he wanted, and he would have been a fool not to take it. “I should get dressed, though.”

She laughed, and threw her arms around his waist. Absentmindedly, he put his hand on the back of her neck, and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. She turned her face into his chest, and simply stood there, happy to be in comfortable silence. 

He was, too. Happy that is. He still couldn’t understand how he’d found someone like her, someone who would go so far out of her way to make him feel good. “Remind me to grab your present on the way out,” he said quietly.

She nodded. “I have one for you at home,” she said.

He smiled a little. “Let me go and get dressed, and then we can leave, okay?”

“Sure,” she said. “Need me to do anything before we go?”

He shook his head. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

While he wasn’t sure if there was any sort of dress code, he was sure he’d be fine dressed in something smart, so he put on a button-down shirt and a pair of black pants and tried not to think about how nervous he was. It had been years since he properly spent a Christmas with anyone, and to suddenly be spending one with Allura’s family…

He told himself it was okay to be nervous. He’d met members of Allura’s family before, but that didn’t make them any less important to impress.

But it would be alright. He had Allura looking out for him, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas ❤


	63. Resolution

Shiro and Allura decided to spend New Year’s together. Well, Allura decided, and Shiro didn’t complain. He’d asked if she wanted to spend it with her family, but it had been her suggestion that they spend it together instead. 

They would watch their city’s fireworks on television, and choose to stay at Allura’s home. She still had all her decorations up, and it was nice to sit amongst them. Shiro was becoming used to staying at Allura’s house, though he didn’t particularly mind that. He liked her house, but more than that, he liked spending time with her. He thought that maybe it didn’t really matter where he was, as long as she was with him.

For dinner, Shiro cooked. They’d taken a trip down to the grocery store earlier in the evening, and although it was very busy, neither of them had really cared. Shiro was surprised that the little store was still open, but they were family run, and it seemed like the market street was going to have a little party amongst themselves. 

Allura seemed content to watch him make their food. They were both dressed comfortably and casually, and she had her hair down. She watched him with her chin propped in her hand, and a smug little smile on her face. He wasn’t sure what she was so pleased over, but her happiness was contagious.

“You know, I could get used to this,” Allura said, as she let her eyes linger on him. “I never knew you could cook so well.”

He laughed a little. “It’s nothing special,” he said, as he reached for plates. He already knew where everything in the kitchen was, and felt completely at ease moving around. The tiles of the kitchen floor were cold against his bare feet, and every now and then a shiver would roll up at his arms because he was only wearing a casual shirt, but those were easy things to forget.

“Food tastes better when you have someone to eat it with though, doesn’t it?” She said fondly.

He smiled to himself. That wasn’t something he could deny. Everything was better when he did it with Allura. It didn’t matter how mundane the task was, or how many times he had done it himself. When he was with her, everything felt better. No one had ever affected him like she did.

Their dinner progressed peacefully. They sat together on the couch with their legs folded and watched the early night fireworks go off. It was easy to relax with Allura, to lounge around without a care in the world. Shiro had started fearing the New Year, knowing that it was nothing more than another year of suffering, but he was starting to feel different about it. Maybe he could find something to look forwards to, instead of something to dread.

“Shiro?”

“Mmm?”

“Do you have any resolutions for the new year?”

When he thought about it, he’d never really set any resolutions. Or at least, he hadn’t thought of any in a while. Nothing seemed worth sticking to, but maybe he could think of some now. What did he want to achieve next year? What kind of person did he want to be?

Well, for one, he wanted to keep his job with the kids.

“I guess so,” he said, “but I’ve never really thought about it.”

Allura laughed. She had her head resting on his chest now, and their tangled fingers on his lap. Her couch was the perfect place to lay together, so that’s what they did while they waited for the fireworks. They’d eaten snacks all evening and had small amounts of wine, but neither were tipsy. 

“It doesn’t really seem like your thing,” she admitted, “but you should try and think of something!”

He was already thinking of something, but he kept that to himself. Aside from working with the kids, what else did he want? He wanted to hate his arm a little less. That would be nice.

“Ah, listen!” Allura said, as she pushed herself upright. “I think the market is letting off their fireworks now!”

Sure enough, he could hear the pops and fizzes of fireworks not too far away. He and Allura went out onto the balcony, and followed her gaze across the suburb. A bright display of fireworks shot up into the sky before showering the area below in a colourful arrangement of embers. 

“They look pretty,” Allura said. Her gaze had turned soft, and the colours of the fireworks were reflected in her eyes. They looked like stars.

Shiro smiled to himself again. He’d been doing that a lot that evening. Maybe another resolution of his should be to kiss her more. In that moment, he certainly wanted to.

He stood with his arms around her waist, and hers around his, as they watched the market street fireworks. They were going off before the main midnight ones. “Do they do fireworks here every year?”

“Most of the time they do,” she said. 

“When I was a kid my neighbours did them too,” he said. “They’d set them off in the street in front of my house.”

She laughed. “Sound’s fun,” she said.

“It was.”

Her eyes drifted up to him. “Did you have fun tonight, too?”

It was a strange question for her to ask, he thought. Maybe Allura still got a little insecure about their relationship, too. With that thought in mind, he smiled, and lifted a hand to touch her cheek. “I did.”

Relief broke over her face, and she smiled. Unable to help himself, he tilted her chin up, and kissed her. He wanted to know what that smile felt like.

“Happy new year,” he mumbled, as he pulled away an inch. 

“It’s not the new year yet,” she replied, blinking owlishly. She was right – he could hear the countdown just beginning to be shouted on the television, but that didn’t matter.

“I’m getting a head start on my new year’s resolution.”


	64. Problem

It was bring-your-parent-to-work day. Shiro hadn’t been working at the kindergarten when the same day had rolled around last year, but he was kind of excited to see it this year. It was a nice chance for him to get to know the kid’s parents a little better.

Besides, the children absolutely loved it. They got a special lunch they could share with their parents and they got to show off their family. It was cute.

Hunk’s mother was a baker. Shiro thought it was a very fitting role, considering how much Hunk loved food. She was a sweet woman with a broad smile, and she brought a little treat from her work for everyone. She was quite a hit amongst the children. Shiro could definitely tell where Hunk got his smile from.

Keith’s father was the one to come, though he didn’t stay for long. Shiro was busy helping in the kitchen when Keith’s father spoke about his job, but he knew that he had an important, high-paying job with a private company. He was a nice enough man, but very soft-spoken, and not very expressive. Either way, Keith seemed glad that he’d shown up, even if just for a little while. He was sure to introduce Lance to him, and made sure his father had a seat at their table.

While Shiro expected Lance to bring his father, it was actually his mother who came. It was nice seeing her again, and she made sure to thank Shiro for making Lance feel better, though he insisted it was all due to Lance’s special brand of resistance. 

Lance’s mother worked at a plant nursery. She had brought in a flowering plant to show the kids, and explained how she looked after all the plants in a huge greenhouse. She had photos, too. It seemed like a job that fit her personality very well.

It was different for Pidge. While he seemed to enjoy hearing about everyone’s parents, his own had been unable to get time off work, and Matt was too tied up in his Garrison duties. Shiro had spoken to Matt earlier that day, and Matt was upset that he couldn’t come and see everyone.

Shiro hated seeing Pidge feel left out. Even though the others included him, it wasn’t the same as being able to show off someone you were proud of.

Shiro wanted to fix that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something small today~ I'll expand on this in the next part ^^


	65. Solution

For the most part, Shiro recalled his time at the Galaxy Garrison quite fondly. He loved piloting, and he had always been surrounded by nice people. With Matt in his squad, he’d enjoyed just about every day, even if the training had been gruelling and the examinations had been beyond difficult.

He missed it, sometimes. Especially flying. He had been the best in their class, and had chased countless records, successfully breaking more than his fair share. It would have been nice to return to the sky, even if he wasn’t the pilot, but he’d never been able to bring himself to. Maybe he could this year.

As it was, he had quite a few physical memories of his time in the Garrison, too. Photos and his previous assessments and blueprints were stored up in his old Garrison account, which he knew he could still access. It wouldn’t take long to print some of it off…

“Hey Pidge, can I speak to you for a moment?”

Pidge glanced away from the table, and nodded. It wasn’t hard for him to drift away from the other kids without them noticing – they were preoccupied with their parents. 

He led Pidge into the office, and gathered the papers he’d printed off. “I know your parents couldn’t come today, and that Matt is really far away,” he started, “and I know that you’re feeling a little left out.”

“It’s alright,” Pidge muttered. It clearly wasn’t, not with those downcast eyes and that small frown the child was wearing. Shiro didn’t like seeing that look on him.

“Well, I was wondering if I could talk for you instead,” Shiro said. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was a little nervous. He wanted Pidge to be happy, that’s all. “I have some old stuff from the Garrison, so I can tell everyone about Matt, and the work he’s doing. If you want.”

Pidge’s eyes widened, and he was suddenly teary. “R-really?”

“It’s only if you want me to,” Shiro was quick to say, worried that he’d upset Pidge. “Don’t cry now, it’s alright.”

Pidge sniffled, and threw his arms around Shiro’s waist. “I want you to,” he mumbled, as he clenched fistful of Shiro’s shirt in his tiny fingers.

Shiro melted a little, and comfortingly put his hand on the back of Pidge’s head. “Alright, looks like I’ve got a lot to talk about now, huh? Everyone is going to love Matt!”

Pidge beamed.


	66. Flower

On the weekend, Shiro and Allura went out to the local park to have lunch together. They were considering taking the children there sometime during the week because there was a large play area with play equipment available, but they wanted to double check it was a nice place first.

It was. There were tall, leafy trees that offered shade the entire way around the park circuit, and fences that separated the park from the road. It was a no-dogs park, and no bicycles, too. Perfect for a class full of rowdy, energetic children.

Perfect for two relaxing adults, too. They sat together under a tree and had a lunch Shiro had packed for them, and chatted freely. The sun was out and the park wasn’t too crowded, so he didn’t have to strain to hear her, or anything like that. He was content to sit beside her.

It was such an easy-flowing day that he eventually became quite a bit drowsy. He wasn’t the type of person to sleep during the day, but that day he did. He had his head cushioned in Allura’s lap, and her fingers in his hair. When he thought back on it, it was no wonder he’d fallen asleep, not with such gentle affections coming from the person he loved. It was utterly peaceful.

When he woke, he found himself covered in flowers. Allura had picked the little buds sprouting between blades of grass, and had somehow managed to weave them through the longest parts of his hair. When he sat up, some fell out, but he could feel that most remained in. She laughed at the sight of him, her face flushed, and insisted they take a photo together. He agreed because he loved her, and he wanted to see that smile of hers last forever.

He set the photo as his wallpaper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, Happy New Years! Just a small update today, because I've got things to do haha
> 
> On another happier note, I can't believe this is my second year of consecutive writing. It hardly feels like it's been over 700 days since I decided to write and upload every day, but I'm very thankful that I did. I get a lot of support, and I appreciate it so much. If the responses I receive weren't always so thoughtful and kind, I definitely wouldn't have continued. Writing is my most enjoyable hobby, and it's what I'm pursuing at university. I hope what I produce is something you enjoy, too.
> 
> Let's hope everyone achieves their goals in 2017! ❤


	67. Miss

The children got fell ill than Shiro expected them to. Lance had been away once or twice with the flu, and Pidge had had chicken pox right at the beginning of Shiro’s placement at Altea Kindergarten. He remembered Keith once catching a cold, and a handful of the other kids being the same. Even he’d been sick before. The only child he couldn’t recall ever falling sick was Hunk.

Of course, it wasn’t like Hunk was immune to illness. That wasn’t possible, not even with all the shots and careful preparation in the world. Eventually, when a cold front washed in, he did fall sick.

Shiro just wasn’t prepared for the impact his absence had on the class.

When he thought back on it, Hunk had always been quite a happy, warm presence. He wasn’t a hard person to miss – his big smile drew people to him, and his kind nature kept them close. Hunk was the type of child that everyone was friends with, even though he spent most of his time with Lance, Keith and Pidge. Everyone loved him.

And consequently, everyone missed him. 

“He’ll only be away for a day or two,” Shiro said as he tried to comfort Lance. Out of all the children, Lance was probably Hunk’s closest friend, and it was Lance who was giving him the poutiest frown he could. “Don’t be too sad.”

“But it’s not the same without him,” Lance whined, tugging on Shiro’s shirt insistently. “There are four seats at our table, not three.”

Shiro sighed for what felt like the fifteenth time that morning, and crouched down beside Lance. “Now I know you miss your friend, but Hunk can’t come today,” he said.

“Why not?”

Shiro hummed. “Well, do you remember the last time you were sick?” He asked. “When your head was sore and your tummy really hurt?”

Almost as if he were feeling the pain again, he touched his hands to his stomach. “Yeah,” Lance nodded.

“And it wasn’t fun, was it?”

He shook his head.

“Well, when a person is sick, they don’t really want to leave home,” Shiro said. “If they do, they could get sicker, or they could infect others. That’s not good, is it?”

Lance shook his head again.

“That’s why Hunk isn’t here today, and he might not be here tomorrow,” Shiro said. “His parents are staying home to take care of him so he can get better as soon as possible. Once he’s not sick anymore, he’ll come back to play with you.”

“He will?”

“Of course,” Shiro smiled. “Hunk loves playing with you and the others. You’re all best friends! He’ll be back once he’s better, I promise.”

Lance nodded, looking convinced. “Okay. Can I make him feel better?”

Shiro chuckled. “No, I’m afraid not, buddy. But once he’s back, how about we all play outside together? We can uncover the sandpit, if you want. Hunk likes doing that.”

“Yeah! I’ll go tell Keith!”

“Alright.” Shiro ruffled Lance’s hair once before sending him on his way. Lance’s concern from his friend was heartening, and it left Shiro feeling good. It seemed like that no matter what, those four kids always looked out for one another. He’d never seen a friendship like theirs before.

“Lance giving you trouble again?”

He startled at Allura’s voice, and turned around to face her. She and Coran had walked over to him, and were watching the children play amongst one another. There was no doubt that the atmosphere felt a little different without Hunk, but the kids seemed to manage well enough.

“No, he’s just worried about his friend,” Shio said. “He’s impatient.”

“Sounds about right,” Allura chuckled. “I bet he can’t wait for Hunk to get better.”

“The kids are always like this when their friend is away,” Coran mused. “Always so worried. To them, it’s like they’re never going to see each other again. In a way, it’s sweet, don’t you think?”

Shiro nodded. “They’re good kids.”

Coran nodded. They talked for a little while longer, before Coran went to go start making lunch for everyone, and Shiro was left with Allura. She stood a little closer to him than usual, and watched the kids with him for a while. 

Lance and Keith were playing together just like usual, but it was evident to Shiro that they were trying to include Pidge more than they typically did. He supposed that without Hunk, Pidge had no one to talk to while Lance and Keith were occupied with their games. While Pidge probably wasn’t too keen on it (he preferred drawing and problem-solving games, or something like playing with building blocks) he placated the other two, and joined in.

“It’s like they’re unbalanced without Hunk around,” Shiro said airily.

Allura made a noise of agreement. “I think so too,” she said, “but they’re managing well enough. At least they’re not sulking.”

“That’s true,” Shiro said. “I think they’ll be alright soon enough.”

She nodded. “Hunk should be back in a few days anyway. Think you can last until then?”

“Me?”

She hummed again, as a sly grin touched her lips. “You miss him too, right? It’s obvious.”

He flushed. “He’s a good kid,” Shiro said. “Still calls me ‘Mr’ and everything. He makes everyone happy.”

“He does,” Allura agreed. She leaned into his side for a moment, ducking her head to hide a shy smile. “I’m glad you get along with the kids here too, you know. They all really look up to you, robot arm and all.”

Her words made him laugh. It was funny to think about how enamoured the children had been with his arm when he’d first arrived. He used to dislike it, just a little, but he was starting to feel better about it lately. That meant he could look back at those moments and smile, instead of wince. “Working with kids is different to how I thought I would be. It’s nice getting to know them.”

“That it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years ❤ Here's to another year of writing! ^^


	68. Outside

The next day, when Hunk did in fact return, the children were allowed to play outside. It was a nice day, with just enough cloud cover to keep everyone from sweltering in the heat. Shiro was supervising the kids who wanted to play outside, while Allura and Coran watched over the ones remaining inside.

Shiro’s group of kids were outside, though that wasn’t particularly surprising. Lance had had Shiro make good on his promise to open up the sandpit, so after morning tea, that was what Shiro did. He made sure to get them buckets and spades as well, knowing that Pidge would want to build a castle or track of some sort.

For what it was worth, the backyard at Altea Kindergarten was perfect for children. There was play equipment and the sandpit underneath an outdoor shade, with woodchips laid down to soften the ground. The rest of the space was a grassy field, perfect for playing with soccer balls or for running around. The entire yard was protected by a tall fence. It felt very homey.

The children never really got hurt in the yard. There’d been some falls off the monkey bars, and some soccer balls to the shins, but that was about it. Shiro hadn’t had to deal with an injury in quite a long time.

That afternoon, however, Lance skinned his knee. Shiro wasn’t sure what he’d tripped over, but suddenly Lance was on the ground. He’d fallen over on his way back outside, where the ground was still covered in pavers, so there had been nothing soft to take the impact. 

Lance valiantly tried not to cry, but Shiro could see that his eyes were watery.

“Hey buddy, did you hurt your knee?” Shiro asked gently as he crouched down beside Lance. He helped Lance sit up, and carefully stretched out Lance’s injured leg. “Got a bit of a nasty scrape there, huh?”

Lance nodded, his face pinched. “It hurts,” he admitted quietly. He looked upset with himself, and it made Shiro’s heart ache.

“Don’t worry too much,” he said. “I’ll get you all fixed up.”

As carefully as he could, he picked Lance up into his arms, and carried him inside. He had Lance sit on one of the tables in the empty dining room as he went to find one of the first-aid kits. He would need to clean the scrape before he could put a band aid on it.

Lance held back a wince as Shiro carefully disinfected the wound. He was still pretty brave, and didn’t complain, or shy away like some of the other children often did. He seemed to understand that if he let Shiro work as quickly as he could, the pain would be over soon.

“Blue band aid?” Shiro offered.

Lance started to smile a little. “Yeah.”

Shiro picked a blue one, and gently stuck it over the scrape. “Feel better?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, I’m glad,” Shiro said. He stood, and helped Lance back off the table. “Be careful now, alright? And don’t press your knee down into the sand.”

“Okay!” Lance smiled up at him, all teeth and dimples, and put his arms around Shiro’s waist. “Thanks, Shiro!”

“No problem, Lance.”

He watched as Lance ran back over to his friends while Shiro packed away the first-aid kit. Keith met Lance halfway, before he even reached the edge of the sandpit. He was too far away to hear anything that Keith said, but Keith’s mouth was moving fast, and he had a worried look on his face. That look only eased when Lance waved a hand dismissively, a wide grin stuck on his face.

Shiro sighed to himself, and hung back a little to watch. Keith held onto Lance’s elbow as they both stepped back into the sandpit, even though the edge wasn’t move than a few inches high, and Lance could easily get over it himself. Still Keith helped him, and he even took his hat off so that Lance could rest his knee in it instead of in the sand.

He wasn’t quite sure what prompted Keith to be so caring. Shiro had always thought that maybe, despite his competitive nature, it was Lance that was the one pursuing Keith’s friendship, and not the other way around. Sometimes it seemed like they had become friends out of convenience – that Lance was the first person to be around Keith in such a manner. 

But it was starting to seem a little different lately. Keith was always with Lance, and always looking for Lance’s attention. Maybe he liked Lance, too. It was hard not to, not when Lance gave so much of himself over to Keith. Shiro wondered how their relationship would progress as they got older.

He looked forward to seeing them all grown up.


	69. Chicks

Sometimes, Coran organised incursions for the children. Excursions to other places could be expensive and tedious, and sometimes not all the children were able to attend due to the cost or their parent’s not wishing for them to travel so far. Incursions were the perfect opportunity to have a fun day without having to organise transport and permission slips.

That morning, Shiro arrived at the kindergarten early to help their incursion workers set up the enclosures. Coran was pretty much friends with everyone, and had asked the local wildlife facility bring in animal displays. Nothing dangerous – mostly insects in boxes and animals for petting, like docile lizards, baby chicks and even a few ducklings. It certainly was a strange mixture of animals, but there would be two parts to the enclosure; the insects and reptiles, and then the farm animals.

While Shiro wasn’t too fond of the insects, he did like helping move the chicks from their carriers and into a secure fencing area. The ducklings were soft, too, and more than one could fit comfortably in his palms. He hadn’t handled something so delicate in a long time, and although the incursion workers had given his arm a dubious look, a sharp stare from Allura had quietened them.

If he were being honest, he was worried too. What if their feathers or their little feet got caught between the joints of his fingers? It was an irrational thought, because it definitely didn’t happen. In fact, the little birds seemed more than content to peck away at his fingers like they were toys.

“The kids are going to love this,” Shiro said, as the last of the chicks were carefully set down by their special heater. 

Allura was watching him with a small smile on her face. “They will,” she agreed. “They should be arriving soon. Come, leave the chicks to themselves. They’ll be there when you come back.”

She was teasing him, and it made him flush. He withdrew his hand from the pen where he’d been petting one of the chicks, and reluctantly followed him from the room. She was right – the children would start to arrive for the day any moment, and he had to make sure they didn’t get too rowdy around the animals. Still, it was sure to be a great day.

 

As expected, the kids really did love the animals. It was complete pandemonium as they impatiently waited for everyone to arrive. Shiro had to make sure their hands were thoroughly washed, and that they completely understood the rules set forth by the incursion instructors. 

The class was divided into two groups that would rotate rooms after lunch. Shiro was supervising the first group, which had his kids in it. They would be with the reptiles and insects first, but he didn’t particularly mind. They’d have all afternoon to play with the chicks, after all. 

 

For what it was worth, the kids liked the insects. The instructors carried them around on sticks and in their hands, and let the kids peer at them as closely as they wished. They even selected one random child to hold onto the safer insects, which everyone loved. Shiro made sure to take heaps of photos.

The kids liked the lizards, too. The instructors let them each take a turn to pat the lizards they carried around after instructing them on how to do it gently. It was funny to see the kids marvel over the lizards, especially because they were the kind one did see often in the wild. For the most part, Shiro enjoyed it too. He was even convinced to pet the lizards as well, courtesy of Lance.

Coran made lunch and everyone took an hour break to eat while the animals got some cooldown time. Shiro made sure the kids washed their hands again before eating, and that they didn’t go wandering off where they weren’t supposed to.

After everyone had eaten, including the instructors, Shiro ushered the children back into the room where they’d set up the pen for the chicks and ducklings. The instructors had the children sit in a circle, and after spending half an hour or so educating the kids on how the chickens were raised and how to handle them, they started letting the children hold them.

Everyone had to carefully cup their hands together to make a safe cradle for the chick. The instructors went around one-by-one to distribute the chicks, and even let Shiro hold one. While he was careful with it, he made sure to keep an eye on the children, too. 

Hunk was the most gentle with the chick he was given. He watched it with a bright-eyed, flushed look on his face, and his hands were so steady that the chick fell straight back to sleep. Pidge was less enthused – he clearly preferred the lizards and insects – but he was still gentle with his chicken. His hands were steady just like Hunk’s, but his chick was peeping at him curiously, and didn’t sleep.

Lance and Keith’s chickens were noisy ones. Neither one of them wanted to sit still, and they constantly squirmed and chirped, despite the kids holding their hands steady. Keith looked a little concerned, but Lance was giggling as he leaned closer to his friend to declare that his chicken was cuter.

And of course that sparked an argument, because no, Keith’s chicken was cuter, but Shiro just chuckled and let them be. He knew that neither one of the children would dare give up any time playing with the animals to argue, and that their disagreement would fizzle out as soon as the instructors starting talking again.

Shiro was content to stand by and watch with his chick. The chick had curled up against his flesh hand, and was happily letting him pet its head with the other. He couldn’t help but smile at it; he couldn’t ever remember seeing something so small.

He was so distracted by it that he didn’t notice Allura slipping into the room until the clicking of her phone’s camera caught his attention. Although he gave her an exasperated look, he couldn’t bring himself to be fussed, not when he had the chick sitting in his hands. He even let her take a second photo.

After all, he wanted to remember all the fun times he had at Altea. He never wanted to forget a single detail.


	70. Tutor

It was all Coran’s idea. With lessons and playtime usually being the only two types of activities the children had, he’d wanted to include something that didn’t revolve around food to change up their days a bit. The idea he’d had – which had ultimately been approved by Alfor – was to include a tutoring session.

The Kindergarten itself was pretty unique when it came to schooling. They were more like a day care for children too young to be in school, but they offered basic lessons and homework sessions in preparation for school. Shiro had taught the odd lesson here or there, mostly in regards to maths or writing and reading. It wasn’t hard stuff, and with his Garrison degrees he was more than qualified to teach.

But what Coran had in mind was something a little different to their normal lessons. He wanted it to be fun for the children, wanted it to be something that wasn’t straight out of the textbooks. Shiro was still a little confused by the whole idea, but if Alfor wanted it to be implemented, then it was what he would do.

Coran would be first, just to let the kids settle into the idea of these new tutoring sessions. He decided to give the kids a lesson in geology, centring on rocks, crystals and fossils. He really was friends with just about everyone – even the staff at their local museum, who had agreed to lend him things from the museum’s spare collection. It was nothing too valuable, but it was enough to excite the children. They especially enjoyed the handful of glittering crystals.

Because Shiro was still unsure about what he was going to do with the kids, it was Allura’s turn. Halfway through the week, she gathered the children for their next tutoring session – gardening. Each of the children carefully poked drainage holes into the bottoms of plastic cups with awls. She instructed them on which soils to layer in the cup, and how to arrange rocks so that plants could grow freely. When the cups were prepared and labelled with each child’s name, they were asked to pick out a seed.

“Mine is totally going to be big and strong!” Lance exclaimed, as he proudly held up his little pot for Shiro to see. They were taking a short moment to carefully decorate the cups, and of course his were covered in blue drawings.

“M-mine too!” Keith said, when he noticed Lance getting attention. His own cup was covered in neater, red drawings. “Mine will be big too!”

Shiro laughed, and ruffled the hair on their heads. “I know, I know,” he said with a small grin. “Want to decorate my pot for me too? Yours look so cool.”

When a few weeks would eventually pass, they’d each be able to see a different plant they’d grown. It was like a little guessing game, and with the horticulture books Allura had given every child, it was fun for them to try and pick which seed they’d gotten. They got to study their plants and measure their rate of growth alongside the look and texture of the sprouting leaves. Even Shiro and Coran joined in.

When the end of the week finally rolled around, Shiro finally knew what he was going to do.


	71. Mission

With his foot propped up on his desk chair, Shiro slowly tied the laces on his heavy-duty boots. He hadn’t worn them in years, not since his Garrison days, and it was a little nostalgic to be putting them back on. The soles were heavy, and although the leather was stiff, the shoes were still somewhat malleable from all the times he’d worn them. If he were being honest with himself, he found them sort of comfortable to wear again.

In fact, putting on his old Garrison uniform was comfortable, too. He’d put it on dozens of times since he was discharged, but that was only when he was particularly down, and he’d done it to make himself feel worse. This time, however, he felt excited. 

The kids had never seen him in his uniform, other than in the photos he showed them on bring-your-parents-to-work-day for Pidge. Allura and Coran hadn’t, either. He was a little embarrassed to be wearing it, but he knew the kids would like it, so he put aside his nervousness.

Today, he’d teach the kids about military training with an obstacle course. Nothing like what he had to do back in the Garrison, of course, but similar enough. It was a nice day outside, and the backyard would be perfect for what he had in mind. He even had a prize prepared at the end for the team that did the best, though he made sure to have a little something for everyone.

“Oh? Is that your old uniform?”

Shiro flushed, his embarrassment flooding back as Allura poked her head back into the office. “Yeah,” he said. It didn’t quite fit as well as it used to, not with the bulkiness of his arm, but he was pleased to find that it still sat right across his shoulders and hips. “Does it look okay?”

“Looks fantastic,” Allura grinned. “You look handsome.”

He laughed a little, and gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks.” 

Her compliments always gave him a little more confidence. Allura wasn’t the type of person who would just say something like that flippantly, after all. If nothing, the warm look on her face said everything – he definitely didn’t look stupid.

With a busy day ahead, he finished tying his shoelaces, and headed out to begin.

 

The kids _loved_ his training. Shiro was so surprised by their enthusiasm that he felt like he would faint. The children were so _accepting_ of it, even though thinking about what he was missing out on due to his injury had always been something painful. To them, anything Shiro did about his “secret spy” training was an adventure, and it was incredibly refreshing. 

He had the kids split into teams of four. They would each take turns being “trained” and guided through their obstacle course. At the end of each was a hidden item they had to find, based on a series of clues and instructions he gave them. To gain more points, they had to work as a team and get through the “missions” as fast as they could. Finding the prize at the end gained them extra bonus points.

At the end of the day, their points would be tallied, and the team with the highest score would be given a prize (it was just a gift bag full of lollies and little toys, but he knew the kids would love that, too).

When their turn was over, the kids were instructed not to share details about their secret missions. It was very Top Secret, after all. By the time it came to be his group’s turn, they were practically bouncing with enthusiasm. The rules had already been explained to them, and they seemed more than prepared to follow them, but Shiro had a request first.

“When I was in the Garrison,” he began, as he lined the kids up in front of the back door, “every morning, our commander would come in to make sure we were awake and prepared. If someone wasn’t ready, or if something had been forgotten, then the whole squad was punished. Team work is incredibly important, as is following the rules. Missions don’t start until everyone is prepared.”

Pidge gave him a curious look at that. The children waiting expectedly to go outside, but Shiro didn’t budge. After a moment, Pidge glanced at his friends, and his eyebrows went up. “Ah, Hunk! You forgot your hat!”

“Oh! I’ll get it now!”

Shiro smiled to himself. Leave it to Pidge to notice the small details, right? 

Once Hunk had his hat on, Shiro nodded, and led them out onto the back porch. “Alright. Ready to start your missions?”

He received an enthusiastic round of cheers, and then they were off. Shiro taught them all about the physical training he had to undergo, and even had them warm up with easy things like star jumps and stretches. While they were doing that, he made sure to correct their positions, and pointed out where each of the bigger muscles were. It was easy to talk about things he’d learned back in his Garrison days.

There were a variety of “missions” the kids had to do to find the next mission instruction. One included walking along the thin wooden ledge around the sandpit with their hands linked – they had to employ techniques Shiro had showed them on the porch to stay balanced together, because if anyone fell, they had to start again.

Another mission involved having everyone cross the monkey bars without falling. Shiro wasn’t allowed to help, and instead instructed from their side. Again, if anyone fell, they had to start over. Soon enough the kids learned that if they sent Keith across first, he’d be able to make sure Lance didn’t fall (which, this time, he didn’t) and in turn they helped Pidge and Hunk across to receive their next instruction.

His group were pretty good at working as a team. While they didn’t always get through the missions on the first try, they learned quickly, and they even found the hidden object at the end, and “rescued” it (the object was Shiro’s black lion toy, perched in one of the lower branches of a tree that the kids could reach if they helped lift Pidge together, with Shiro watching on carefully of course. It worked well enough as a civilian, he supposed).

It was an enjoyable day. He liked remembering the fun times he had in the Garrison, and even the hard ones, like training. Somehow, in the end, it had been very rewarding to receive praise and do well when one was pushed so hard it seemed inevitable that they would fail.

“Hey Shiro,” Lance said, as he reached out a hand to touch Shiro’s metal arm, “are you going to go back to the army?”

It was a surprising question, one that made Shiro’s heart squeeze uncomfortably. If he could, if he was offered the chance, if he was still intact… he probably would have. He missed flying more than anything, missed the atmosphere he’d grown up in, missed being with his squad. 

Realistically, that wasn’t something he could do. Not with his arm. “No, buddy,” he said, as he patted Lance’s hand gently. “I can’t anymore.”

Lance frowned, like he didn’t understand something. “Why not?” He asked. “You’re the best, obviously.”

Shiro laughed a little. “Well, training in the army is very tough, and you have to be very healthy to be there. With my arm like this, I can’t work for the army anymore.”

“But why?” Lance insisted. By now, the other children were listening, too. “Doesn’t your arm make you even stronger?”

Again, Shiro was surprised. From a child’s point of view, he supposed the prosthetic could be seen as an upgrade. The kids had thought it was robotic when he first started working at Altea, hadn’t they? It wasn’t such a farfetched idea. “I’ve long since accepted that the army isn’t my place anymore, Lance,” Shiro finally said. “Isn’t it better that I’m here, anyway?”

“Well, yeah,” Lance said. His fingers tightened. 

Keith reached forwards to touch his arm too. “You won’t leave, right?” He said. It sounded more like a demand than a question. “You have to work here forever.”

Shiro put a strained smile on his face. He wondered if the kids realised that they wouldn’t be here forever, even if he was. “I like working here,” Shiro said. “I don’t want to leave.”

“This is your home anyway,” Pidge said indignantly. “Now I just have to make Matt come.”

“I think you are a good teacher,” Hunk said. He reached out a tentative hand too, and placed it on Shiro’s arm, but only for a moment. “I like it when you work here. It’s more fun!”

Shiro smiled again, but it wasn’t as hard to this time as it was before. “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“Besides,” Lance said with a huff, “now _we_ have the best soldier. He’s ours now, so the army can’t have him anymore!”

Shiro laughed, and stood back up. “Alright, alright. We’ve got to head back inside now, so let’s go, officers. You’ve got a top secret mission to keep secret!”

If he took a moment to wipe at his eyes before heading back inside to grab the next group of children, then no one mentioned it.


	72. Early

Shiro sighed around the cup of tea in his hands. Against his flesh hand it was warm, just on the verge of being too hot. It wasn’t his mug, but rather one from Allura’s top cupboard, where all cups were kept. It was slightly tea stained on the inside, and there was a tiny chip on the rim. He wondered how many times Allura had used it over the years.

There were a lot of little details about her house he liked, just like the cup he held between his hands. There was Panther on his towel bed, and the hooks where she hung her jackets by the door, and the little plant on the kitchen windowsill. He’d really come to enjoy living in her space.

“Shiro?”

He glanced over his shoulder, and spotted Allura leaning against the bedroom doorway. She was still in her pyjamas, but her shirt was twisted from sleep, and her hair was tangled. She looked like she’d just woken up, which she probably had.

“Good morning,” he said. “Do you want a cup of tea?”

She shook her head, and wandered closer to lean against his back. He was sitting on one of the tall kitchen stools, so it was easy for her to rest her head against his shoulder. “Why do you get up so early?” She complained, though she didn’t sound annoyed at all. “It’s Sunday, you know.”

“I know,” he laughed quietly, and rested his tea-warmed hand on top of the one she laid on his shoulder. “But I’m used to waking up early, I don’t mind mornings.”

Allura huffed. Her breath was warm against his skin, even through his loose shirt. “I have to teach you how to sleep in and enjoy mornings,” she declared. The vibrancy of her statement, however, was lessened by the sleepy yawn that interrupted it. 

Shiro laughed again, and absentmindedly rubbed gentle circles on the top of her hand. “I enjoy mornings well enough,” he said. After all, he got to see Allura on mornings like this, and watching her sleep peacefully, was soon becoming a favourite pastime of his.

Allura simply hummed, and pressed her nose against his neck. “Sleeping in feels good, though,” she said.

“Why don’t you sleep for a little while longer?” He suggested. “It is still quite early for a Sunday morning.”

“I can’t sleep if you’re not there,” she complained. Her fingers tightened over his shoulder. “Come back to bed.”

It almost sounded like she was whining, and it made Shiro smile to himself. Allura didn’t usually act so spoiled, but she didn’t take as much care with her actions when she was tried, and he thought it was ridiculously cute. There was no way he’d deny her anything when she asked for something so sweet.

“Alright, let me just finish my tea,” he said.

She nodded, and pressed a lazy kiss to the side of his neck before wandering back off towards her bedroom. He watched her go with a fond look. After finishing his how lukewarm tea and washing out his cup, he went to join her, and found that she’d already fallen asleep once more. She had one leg hooked over the lumped bedsheets, and her face turned into her pillow. If nothing else, she certainly did look comfortable.

He sighed to himself, and pulled back the sheets a little. He probably wouldn’t sleep, but he’d doze again until Allura wanted to get up. Even if he was used to waking early, he had no doubt in his mind that he could get used to this, too.


	73. Bee

Allura and Alfor had a lot in common. Their dark skin, silvery hair and strong attitudes were a few of the more obvious traits. Their warm, secret smiles and love for children were another few things they certainly had in common with another. Shiro had only met Alfor a handful of times, but he thought he knew him well enough, even more so through Allura and the way she talked about him. Their closeness always amazed Shiro.

Their love for gardening and all forms of nature was another trait they shared. As such, Altea Kindergarten had healthy, well-maintained gardens both out the front and out the back. Most of it was contained in fences and carefully placed flower beds, and keeping the plants trimmed was easy. They could have hired someone to do the gardening, but Allura liked to take care of the plants herself every couple of weekends.

Sometimes, Shiro felt like the seasons changed instantly when the flowers bloomed. One day there would hardly be a single bud sprouting, and the next there would be fully grown flowers as far as the eye could see. 

Most of the flowers didn’t really attract bees. Shiro had only ever seen a handful around, so he wasn’t too concerned about one of the kids getting stung. As long as they left the bees alone, they would be fine. It wasn’t like the children strayed particularly close to the flowerbeds, either. 

But one day, a child did get stung. It was a complete accident – the bee was on the ground, maybe dead, and Lance had tripped over. The stinger had gone into the meat of his palm, and he’d instantly burst into tears. 

Shiro had Lance sat on his desk chair as he held an icepack to Lance’s little hand. “Don’t worry bud, it’s not too bad,” Shiro said reassuringly. 

Lance’s eyes were red, and his cheeks were still damp. His fingers had stopped shaking now, but he still looked miserable. “I didn’t mean to fall on it,” he whimpered.

“I know,” Shiro said, as he rubbed Lance’s knee. He flipped the icepack over so that the cool side was against Lance’s skin. “It was an accident. As long as you’re alright, that’s all that matters.”

Lance nodded. “Okay.”

“How does your hand feel now?” Shiro asked, as he peeled the icepack back a bit. The redness in Lance’s skin had gone down, as had the swelling. Shiro counted his lucky stars that Lance wasn’t allergic to bees.

“Better,” Lance said.

“Alright,” Shiro nodded. “Let me get you a band aid, and then you can go. I’m sure Keith is very worried by now.”

That made Lance crack a small smile. Once Shiro had stuck a red band aid over the little sting mark, he picked Lance up, and carried him back out into the dining area. Most of the children were playing outside, but Keith was impatiently waiting by the tables, a frown on his face.

“Is your hand better?” He asked the moment Shiro set Lance down on his feet.

Lance nodded, and stuck out his hand as proof. The red band aid looked quite bright against his dark skin.

Keith gave him a sceptic, squinty look, before apparently deciding Lance was fit enough to play outside again. They were off out the door like rockets, as if Lance had never been hurt.

Shiro really admired the tenacity of children.


	74. Move

Allura was sitting at the kitchen bench, admiring the bracelet she wore around her wrist – the one Shiro had given her – as Shiro cooked dinner for the two of them. She’d been watching him with a contemplative look on her face for a while, her eyes moving between the bracelet and him and back again. She looked like she wanted to say something, but every time she went to, she decided better of it.

Shiro chose not to ask about it. He knew she was the type of person to thoroughly think things through before making a fuss over something, and if she wanted to think about whatever was troubling her for a little while longer, than that was fine with him. He was more than content to cook away while she thought over her problems.

“What do you want to drink with dinner?” He eventually asked, as he absentmindedly pulled down two glasses from the cupboard. “Is juice fine?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’ll get them.”

“Alright.”

He dished out dinner onto two plates and carried them to the small dining table he had in his home. Allura followed with their drinks, and when she sat, she pressed her cold toes on top of his bare feet. She was always doing things like that when they were alone, was always pressing their elbows together or linking their hands. He liked her little gestures of affection.

They spoke of simple things while they ate. Allura was easy to talk to, and easy to listen to. Shiro never found himself straining to find a conversation topic, and was always more than happy to let her lead the conversation, if she so chose to. More often than not, that’s what she did. She always had interesting things to talk about, though perhaps Shiro just thought everything she did was interesting.

“Hey, Shiro,” she finally said, as they both finished their meals. “Can I ask you a question?”

He set his fork down, and reached for his glass. “Of course,” he said, smiling a little. He was sort of relieved now that she’d finally decided to mention what had been troubling her. “What is it?”

She blinked several times, like she was double checking whatever she had thought about, before finally opening her mouth to ask him a question. “Want to move in together?”


	75. Disbelief

Shiro set the box in his arms down by the bench, and straightened. There was sweat beading on his forehead, so he used the hem of his shirt to wipe it away. He had known this would be hard work, but he hadn’t expected to get so tired from carrying boxes up the housing block’s stairs all morning. 

“You alright, Shiro?”

“Hmm?” He glanced away from the boxes, and gave Allura an absentminded smile. “I’m fine.” He was in disbelief, actually, but he wasn’t going to say that.

“Alright. Only a few more boxes to go and then we can relax, hmm?”

He hummed in agreement. Just a few to go. He walked around in a bit of a daze, doing what needed to be done. It kind of reminded him of his Garrison days, when he fell into a routine so repetitive that completing it was easy and fluid, as though he were a well-oiled machine. 

As he was heading back up the stairs, trailing behind Allura, he noticed the box she had in her hands was slipping. He didn’t even think about it before putting his hand on her waist, stretching the other forwards to steady the box. “Be careful,” he said, smiling again.

She smiled back at him, and stood up on her toes to press a kiss on his lips. “Thank you, Shiro.”

He must have looked like an idiot as he watched her head back up the stairs and down the hall into her home. Like usual, she fit into the scenic housing with ease, even if she did happen to be carrying dusty boxes. 

Shiro sighed to himself, and continued up the stairs. It was a nice day, not too hot and not too cold, even though he was sweating. There was a slight breeze, enough to cool his skin whenever it happened to drift by. For some strange reason, despite his absentmindedness, Shiro felt like every detail was in sharp focus, like he’d never forget it. Not the pretty sky, or the feeling of tiredness in his arms, or the way he felt when he knew Allura was watching him because she didn’t think he could tell. 

Somehow, he was still in disbelief. 

There were boxes stacked by the couch, and a few in the kitchen, which is where he left the one in his hands. Allura was buried in the fridge, but she re-emerged with juice, and poured them both a glass. They’d have wine with dinner, but for now, juice was enough. He drained the glass in one go – earlier that morning, he’d carried furniture in and out, too – and patiently waited while Allura refilled his glass.

“You want to start on the bedroom?” Allura said, as she put the juice away. “I’ll do the rest.”

“Alright.”

She put a hand on his arm to stop him from walking away, and kissed him once before letting him go. He watched her fondly, just for a moment, before heading to the bathroom.

He washed his hands and his face, and wiped down his arms, before wandering into the bedroom feeling oddly refreshed. He didn’t want to handle clothing and bedsheets with sweat on his skin. 

He started with the bed. Allura liked her fluffy white quilt, but preferred his blue sheets and pillows so that the room would have a splash of colour. It had all been washed that morning, and was ready to be put on the bed. The frame was Shiro’s, but the mattress was Allura’s, because they both agreed that it was the comfier of the two.

When the bed was made, he couldn’t help but flop down onto it and bury his face into his pillow. It smelt like Allura’s washing detergent. It seemed like such a simple thing, but he noticed it, and knew that he wouldn’t forget. Would it ever lose its edge of delight? Would he ever become used to all those little things? It was day one, only the first day, and he was already overwhelmed. 

And still in disbelief.

 

A short time later, Shiro fell asleep. Their bed was comfortable, even more so because he was tired, so it was no wonder that he drifted off. He probably could have slept straight through until the next day if something hadn’t of woken up.

It was a slow awakening. His mind became conscious before his body did, but eventually he blinked his eyes open, and found that it was Allura’s hand in his hair that had woken him. He watched her for a moment through hazy eyes, until she noticed his staring.

“Sorry,” she said, her voice quiet, “did I wake you?”

He nodded, but he didn’t mind. “It’s okay,” he said. “What time is it?”

Allura carefully laid down beside him, like she was afraid that he’d break if she moved too fast. “It’s not dinner time yet,” she said. Tentatively, she reached out a hand to run her knuckles down his cheek, over and over. It was so soothing that he felt like he could fall asleep again.

“This bed is comfortable,” he mumbled. His face was still half pressed against his pillow.

Allura chuckled quietly. “Seems so,” she said. “I was surprised to hear no noise coming from here.”

“Mmm, sorry, I’m a bit behind… I still have to do the clothes…”

“It’s alright, it can wait until tomorrow,” she whispered. Her fingers hadn’t left his cheek. “You look sleepy anyway.”

He wouldn’t deny that. He would have really gone back to sleep if he hadn’t noticed something in Allura’s expression. “Something wrong?”

She smiled then, a soft smile, as she gently flattened her palm against his cheek. “No, not at all. I just… you’re here, and I keep thinking you’ll have to go home in the morning, but…”

He smiled too, just lazily. “I am home.”

She huffed out a weak laugh, and inched closer to rest against him. Even if they were above the sheets with all their clothes on, it felt oddly intimate. “You are,” she agreed. Then, just quietly, just sweetly, she whispered, “I’m still in disbelief.”


	76. Angel

Allura’s family knew that they’d moved in together, including Coran. Shiro was a little less quick to tell his parents, just because he wanted to keep it to himself for a little longer. It was a selfish desire, but one he indulged in, just for a little while. His parents were very happy for him when he did eventually tell them.

They didn’t tell the kids, though. The children didn’t quite understand that Shiro and Allura were _together,_ but they didn’t really need to. It was more of an ambiguous feeling for them – they knew that Shiro and Allura weren’t separate, but anything more than that was a mystery. Shiro was sure that on some basic level, the children understood. Besides, it wasn’t like that had to share their personal life, anyway.

Though the kids were starting to feel enough like family that Shiro was tempted to.

Either way, life at the kindergarten carried on like it usually did. Aside from arriving and leaving together, Shiro’s work relationship with Allura didn’t change much (it had been pretty affectionate before, he was realising. No wonder Coran wasn’t surprised they’d moved in together now. Shiro was incredibly embarrassed by it all, but in a good way).

Sometimes it was easy for Shiro to forget that he lived with Allura at all. It was still so new, but it already felt like it had become ingrained in him. When he stopped and thought to himself, _I’m going home, and my home is Allura’s home,_ it was always with a pleasant shock. And yet, other times, it felt like they’d been together forever. 

The times he forgot, however, were usually times when he was distracted by the children. It was raining outside, so they had indoor activities. Most of his group were seated around a table, playing with blocks or action figures. Like usual, Pidge had paper and pens in front of him, and he was drawing his schematics and plans and inventions. Oddly enough, Keith had joined him.

When Shiro peered over Keith’s shoulder, he found that Keith was actually drawing… something. It sort of looked like it had… feathers? “That’s a nice bird, Keith,” Shiro said.

Keith turned his big eyes up on Shiro, and proudly thrust the drawing forwards. “It’s an angel!” He corrected. “Mother says that angels actually exist, you know! They actually exist!”

Shiro smiled. “Is that so?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah! They’re out there, I know it.”

Shiro raised his brows. Keith sounded quite determined about his conclusion, and it made him wonder what Keith had seen to make him think that way. It certainly was intriguing.

Intriguing, too, because Lance seemed a little dismayed. Shiro wasn’t sure why Lance was discouraged by Keith’s evident fascination with angels, but the more the day progressed, the more it seemed obvious. 

Keith really did like angels. Now that Shiro had opened up that door, Keith was all for showing off his drawing. Shiro watched from afar, most of the time, as he had other things to do and Allura was on supervision duty. He did, however, listen in every now and then – especially when he noticed Allura pulling Lance to the side for a moment.

“Are you okay, Lance?” Allura asked, as she leaned down to peer at Lance’s face.

Lance looked teary, and stood with his arms behind his back. Shiro half expected him to burst into tears any second. After a pouty moment, he turned his big blue eyes up on Allura. “Keith said he was going to marry an angel,” Lance cried, “but _I_ wanted to marry Keith!”

Allura’s eyes widened. She clearly wasn’t used to Lance and Keith’s overtly affectionate attitudes, but she didn’t seem worried by it. Instead she wiped her fingertips under Lance’s eyes to brush away tears that had yet to fall, and gave him her signature charming smile. “Come now, if he marries you, then isn’t he marrying an angel?”

Lance turned his eyes down, looking miserable. “I don’t have wings or a halo,” he mumbled. “I’m not an angel.”

Allura hummed. “Well, you must know that I’m going to disagree with that,” she said. “You are an angel – your kindness and your willingness to support others certainly makes you one. But if it’s looks you’re going for… I’m sure I have a fix for that.”

Shiro wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, but he didn’t interfere. He loved seeing Allura interact with the children, and the way the children followed her around so willingly. It was like they clung to every word she said, and it was very heart-warming to watch. So he went back to work, and waited until both Allura and Lance reappeared before turning his gaze to them again

Allura looked proud of herself, with her hands resting on her hips and a smug smile on her face. Shiro could see why. Lance had the feathery angel wings from the dress-up trunk in the recreation room strapped to his back, and a halo made from golden tinsel sitting on the top of his head. If possible, he looked even happier than Allura. 

And boy was the flushed, adoring look Keith gave him worth inch of it. Shiro thought that perhaps Lance had been his angel all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon on tumblr asked me to write something based off of drawings by [foxyjoy-art](http://foxyjoy-art.tumblr.com/) which you can find here:  
> [one](http://foxyjoy-art.tumblr.com/post/155193297784/give-space-dad-a-break-hes-a-tired-man)  
> [two](http://foxyjoy-art.tumblr.com/post/155418582284/ur-lil-keef-w-mothman-kills-me-let)  
> [three](http://foxyjoy-art.tumblr.com/post/155422854129/can-we-have-a-tiny-lance-too-please-%E0%B9%91)  
> [four](http://foxyjoy-art.tumblr.com/post/155504728509/allura-could-make-tiny-lance-a-mothman-costume-so)
> 
> The art originally has mothman instead of an angel, but I find mothman a little... unsettling... so I went with an angel instead :')


	77. Water

For every birthday that happened at Altea Kindergarten, the adults tried to do something special. The kids often participated too, as they were always excited to do something special for their friends. Birthdays were always very sweet and enjoyable days at the kindergarten, and Shiro looked forward to every single one.

Planning for Hunk’s birthday, however, proved to be a bit of a challenge.

Everyone wanted to help out with his birthday plans. Hunk was, after all, most likely everybody’s favourite person. There wasn’t a single child he wasn’t friends with, and not a single person who didn’t want to make him as happy as possible. It came as no shock that they all had their own ideas about what Hunk would like best for his birthday, and while most of them were suggested with good intentions in mind, there were just a _lot_ of them.

“Why can’t we make him cupcakes? Hunk loves food!” Keith argued. It certainly was a good idea.

“Just because he likes food doesn’t mean that’s who he is,” Lance argued. “I know Hunk the best, after all!”

Also a good point.

“That’s why I said we should make him something,” Pidge interrupted. “Like a machine, or an invention. He’s really good at building things.”

“But that doesn’t mean he’ll love one for his birthday. We have to do more for him,” Lance stubbornly insisted. “It’s _Hunk.”_

“What about a surprise party?” Shiro cut in. “That was a lot of fun.”

“Hunk doesn’t _like_ being scared,” Lance whined. “We can’t do that, Shiro!”

Sighing, Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. He was running out of ideas fast, and he didn’t want any of the children to get upset before Hunk’s birthday. It was hard enough organising this without Hunk overhearing any of it, and if his closest friends got all worked up, he was bound to notice.

If he were being honest, Shiro was a little stumped about what to do for Hunk, too. All of the kid’s suggestions were good, but he understood where Lance was coming from. Hunk was more than what people saw on the surface, and he deserved something just as meaningful for his birthday. Hunk was incredibly caring, even more so than the other children, and despite his tendency to exercise caution, he wouldn’t shy away from doing something fun and energetic. 

“Ah,” Shiro said, as an idea suddenly sprung to his mind. “How about we have a water fight?”

 

Shiro spent the morning cooking food for the day with Coran. He had arrived earlier than Allura for the first time since they moved in together so he could help out a bit more. They put up yellow decorations (Shiro was proud to say they had decorations in just about every colour now) and had heaps of food for everyone, consisting mostly of Hunk’s favourites.

But what Shiro really had to arrive early for was the outdoor preparations. They’d bought a bunch of water guns for all the kids, as well as water balloons that needed filling and tying. It was a perfectly warm day for a water fight, and he knew the kids would love it. He spent the better part of the early morning tying balloons and leaving them in big plastic buckets around the backyard. He was sure to fill some buckets with just water, too, so that the kids could easily refill their water guns.

Because it was Hunk’s birthday, Shiro, Coran and Allura had decided that he would get the nicest water gun they’d bought. It was big and maybe a little bit heavy, but Hunk was a strong kid, and Shiro had no doubt that he would be able to lift and carry it without a problem. It was bright yellow, and they’d stayed back a little the previous night to paint his name on the side, just so he’d know it was his.

Shiro couldn’t wait to see what Hunk thought. Everything had to be perfect, but he was sure it would be. Either way, he knew Hunk would be happy – he was the type of person to appreciate any small gesture. He always had, always thanking Shiro for the smallest of things, always helping his friends with the simplest of gestures. Shiro had lost count of how many times he’d seen Hunk pass Pidge a drink before getting one for himself without being asked, and it never failed to make him smile when he saw Hunk holding the door open for anyone who happened to be walking through it.

A child as sweet as Hunk deserved everything they could give him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was too tired to get the rest done tonight, but it'll be in the next chapter~ for now, happy birthday, Hunk!


	78. Happy

Lance, Keith and Pidge arrived before Hunk on the morning of his birthday. They all had their gifts for Hunk wrapped up and ready to be presented, as did many of the other kids. Shiro let them leave everything in the office so that nothing would get lost or damaged during the morning.

As per one of Lance’s many, many suggestions, they didn’t purposefully surprise Hunk when he came in. When Shiro thought about it, Hunk _did_ startle easily. In either case, he seemed more than pleased to simply walk into the building and see everyone milling around the decorated tables.

“Happy birthday, Hunk!”

Shiro lost track of who said it first, though he had a feeling it was Lance, as everyone gave Hunk sweet well wishes. It was impossible not to smile when he saw how happy Hunk looked. A touch of pink had come to his cheeks and he was grinning so wide it was like someone had offered him the world. It was a very charming look on such a good kid.

At the insistence of the children (particularly Lance) they spent the better part of the morning opening gifts and snacking on the food Coran had made. Shiro was more than content to let them do as they wished, for the most part. After all, who better to plan a party for a child than children themselves?

He was sure to take a lot of photos. Allura found it highly amusing, but he saw her taking more than her fair share, too. 

Once everyone had eaten and Shiro had painstakingly helped Hunk pack his new presents back into gift bags for safekeeping, the kids went outside. Allura and Coran made sure they had sunscreen and hats on, and then they were ready to play. 

They loved the water guns. With the backyard as an obstacle, including the play equipment, porch and covered sandpit, they had heaps of places to run around and hide behind. The kids decided to split themselves into teams, and while Shiro wasn’t exactly sure how they decided a winning team at the end of the day, no one really seemed to care.

The most important thing was that Hunk enjoyed himself. He loved his water gun, and just like Shiro had thought, he was able to carry it around without any problems. He was on a team with Pidge, Lance and Keith, and they did very well, he believed.

Hunk was pretty handy with that water gun, when he thought about it. He shot straight, and never wasted any water. He even soaked Lance a few times, just for the fun of it, though Lance got him back with water balloons. By the end of the day, Shiro was pretty sure that the teams didn’t matter anymore, and the kids were just keen to have fun.

In the afternoon, when everyone was wrapped in towels and calmly eating their afternoon tea, Shiro wondered over to crouch down beside Hunk. “Hey, buddy. Did you have a fun day?”

Hunk turned his bright grin on Shiro. “Yeah! It was really fun!”

Shiro smiled. “I’m glad. Everyone thought really hard on what to do, you know. They wanted to make it perfect for you.”

Hunk’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Of course,” Shiro said, chuckling. “You’re very important to all of us.”

A childish smile touched Hunk’s face again. It was a sweet look, one that made something pleasant bloom in Shiro’s chest. Hunk _was_ very important to them all, himself included. Absentmindedly, he remembered the day Hunk had been away with the flu and how it had impacted the class so much. His presence was a warmth in the room that was incredibly missed when it was gone.

Maybe he should remind Hunk of that a little more often.

“I’m really glad you had a fun day,” Shiro eventually said. “Happy birthday, buddy.”

Unexpectedly, Hunk put his arms around Shiro’s shoulders, and hugged him tight. “Thank you, Mr Shiro! I really had a lot of fun.”

Shiro smiled, and rubbed Hunk’s back gently. “Good,” he said, as he stood and ruffled Hunk’s hair. “You deserve it.”


	79. Popcorn

“It’s a mockbuster Allura, it’s meant to be bad.”

“Oh, it is? Why would anyone purposefully make a _bad_ movie?” Her nose crinkled in distaste. It was a very cute look on her. “Movies cost a lot of money to make, don’t they?”

“Of course,” Shiro said, as he passed her a bowl of freshly popped popcorn over the back of the sofa. “But mockbusters are cheap. They’re meant to be low-budget – that’s why people like them.”

“Because they’re low-budget?”

“Because they’re so bad that they’re funny.”

She huffed, and didn’t seem particularly convinced by that, but she didn’t complain, either. They were having a movie night together, but there wasn’t much on, and neither one of them could be bothered to dig through their combined pile of yet-to-be-sorted DVDs. It felt much easier to just find something on television, though the only thing they’d found was some sort of random, shark mockbuster.

“Matt loves these things,” Shiro said, as he finally joined Allura on the couch with their drinks in hand. “He made me watch them with him every month. For a smart guy, he really likes dumb things like these.”

Allura smiled to herself. She was wearing loose pants and a shirt that kept slipped off her shoulder, and she had her hair down. Once Shiro had made himself comfortable, she inched across the couch and slumped against his side. “I’ll have to meet him soon and question him about his taste in movies,” she declared.

Shiro laughed. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and took a piece of popcorn. “He’s always loved weird movies like these,” Shiro said fondly. “I don’t know where he finds them, if I’m being honest, but he always had a new one for us to watch.”

“Were you allowed to watch them in the Garrison?”

“Well… no,” he said, laughing again, “but Matt had his ways. You know he built a television for us to watch the movies on? It had a USB port that he’d used to play the movies from. He managed to hide it every time the Commander came around to do room checks.”

“Wow,” Allura said, eyes wide. “That’s some dedication.”

“He’s great at building things.”

“So you’ve told me.”

For what it was worth, the movie was exactly like Shiro expected it to be – full of stiff, computer-generated graphics and cheesy acting. It could have been worse. He didn’t know how, but it probably could have been. At least it had Allura laughing, in between her outraged cries and general disappointment in the female leads. 

Sometime during the night, when the bowl of popcorn had been finished and placed aside, they’d both moved to lay down. Shiro was lying on his back, one arm propped behind his head. Allura was laying on his chest, her arms folded under her head as their legs tangled together. She’d been hesitant about her weight becoming uncomfortable on top of him, but he’d assured her that he was quite comfortable. If anything, the weight was quite reassuring – like how the first night in winter spent with a heavy quilt on one’s bed felt. He liked being able to fit her completely into his arms.

“When’s Matt coming to stop by next?” Allura asked. “You should invite him over.”

Shiro had thought she’d forgotten about their pre-movie conversation, so he was surprised that she was bringing it up again. “He should be free sometime next month. His assignments from the Garrison are really lengthy, and he lives more than an hour away…”

“I want to meet him,” Allura mumbled, as she lowered her eyes. “You talk about him a lot, and he’s important to you, so I want to meet him. Him and your parents.”

Come to think of it, she hadn’t really met anyone close to him. It would be easy to ask his parents to come over for lunch or dinner on the weekend, but it had just never occurred to him to ask them. They lived more than an hour away, too. 

“After the accident,” he started carefully, “I kind of… pushed all my friends away. My parents, too. I didn’t… didn’t want to rely on anyone, and I hated seeing how they treated me differently. Only Matt didn’t change, and my parents never abandoned me, not even when I was selfish, or when I said really bad things to them. They never blamed me for any of it. Them, and Matt, they’re…”

He couldn’t get the words out, but Allura seemed to understand. She ran her thumb across his cheek, and leaned up to press a soft kiss against his mouth. “It’s okay,” she said. Somehow, when those two, small words came from her, Shiro believed them.


	80. Cat

“Are you sure we’re… _ready_ for this, Allura? It’s a big responsibility…”

“Of course we are, don’t stress about it too much,” Allura said. She had linked their arms together the moment they’d walked through the building entrance, like she was certain Shiro was going to bolt for it. “I can tell you’re nervous.”

“That’s because I _am_ nervous,” he said. “I’ve never taken care of another life before, you know.”

“Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s a cat.”

Shiro flushed, and fixed his gaze elsewhere. “I’ve never really had a pet before,” he muttered. “My parents always looked after them, even if I did things like feeding and walking. I feel more responsible this time.”

“It’s alright,” Allura soothed, amused, as she rubbed his arm gently. “Cats are pretty self-sufficient, you know. We’re not getting a kitten, so we won’t need to take it for shots, or teach it to use a little box, or anything like that. Think of it more as a companion than as something that needs constant care and attention.”

He nodded, though it was more for her benefit than for his. They were at the animal rescue centre, where Allura had called ahead so that they could look at the older cats. It had been Allura’s idea to adopt one – not only for them, but for Panther, too. He was staying around Allura’s home a lot more now, and it would be nice for him to have a companion. Allura’s flat didn’t have a backyard, so they couldn’t get a dog, but a cat was certainly manageable. 

“Besides,” Allura added quietly, as one of the staff members came over to greet them, “you already bought a collar and food bowls for it anyway.”

He flushed again. 

The staff member took them to the cattery, where the cats up for adoption were held. Shiro was more than content to trail behind Allura, watching her look through the bars of the big cages curiously. There were tags on each cage with the breed, age and temperament of each cat. Shiro felt like he could have taken them all home.

Towards the back of the room, Allura stopped. The cage in front of her held one cat with black and white fur. It looked like it was wearing socks, and it had a white strip of fur on its forehead that Shiro found reminded him of his own hair. It was an amusing thought, and it made him laugh, because clearly Allura was having the same idea.

“It says he’s about Panther’s age,” Allura said, as she glanced at Shiro. “Really quiet, not too fussy…”

“Do you think Panther would like him?”

“I don’t think Panther would mind,” Allura chuckled. She observed the cat once more, who had uncurled from his ball to blink at them lazily. “What do you think?”

“He seems laid back,” Shiro said. The more he looked at the old cat, the more his nervousness started to ebb away. “I like him.”

Allura grinned. “Me too.”

That cat’s name was Balmera. Shiro wasn’t sure who came up with the name, or what culture it was originally from, but it was odd and quirky, which somehow fit the cat. They took Balmera home that day after paying the adoption fees, and slowly introduced him to Panther. Like Allura had expected, neither cat seemed particularly fussed by their new companion. If anything, they seemed to regard each other simply as another way to keep warm on the towel (because Balmera refused to use the cat bed, too).

In the end, Shiro was glad to have him and Panther around. Their home felt a little more complete each day.


	81. Before

“Mr Shiro, Mr Shiro!”

He startled at the sound of his name, and set aside the stack of paperwork he’d been organising. When he glanced towards the office door, Shiro found Pidge standing there expectedly, an excited look on his face. It made Shiro want to laugh. Even in his excitement, Pidge still followed the rules effortlessly.

“You can come in, Pidge,” Shiro said.

Pidge’s eyes lit up, and he wasted no time in rushing over. “Guess what?” He said, as he placed his hands on Shiro’s knees. There was a very expectant look on his face, and it made a smile twitch at Shiro’s lips.

He was pretty sure he already knew what had Pidge so thrilled, but he wouldn’t ruin the surprise. “What is it?”

A broad grin came across Pidge’s face. “Matt is coming back!”

Shiro’s eyebrows rose in feigned surprise. “Oh, is he? That’s so exciting!”

“Yeah!” Pidge nodded several times, and leaned up on his toes. “He said he’s gonna come visit me! You’ll come over too, right? It’ll be just like before.”

To Pidge, “before” meant the time before Matt was stationed more than an hour away by the Garrison. It wasn’t a permanent thing, but he had some off-the-grid work that needed to be done, so he’d moved. When he’d still lived close by, Shiro hadn’t been working at the Kindergarten. Thinking back on it, he thought it was good timing that he’d been employed by Alfor when he had, for Pidge’s sake. 

“If your parents say it’s alright, I will,” Shiro said, though he doubted the Holts would mind. They were close friends with his own parents, mostly because Shiro and Matt themselves were childhood friends, so he’d known them for a while. They had visited him in hospital a few times after his accident, and although he hadn’t been very receptive to anyone’s attention, he’d appreciated their concern a lot. 

“I’ll ask, I’ll ask!” Pidge said, grinning wider.

Shiro ruffled his hair gently. “Alright, buddy. Just tell me when.”

 

By the end of the week, the Holts had invited Shiro over for dinner on Saturday night, when Matt would be returning. Matt knew, mostly because he and Shiro had been talking quite regularly lately. It was Shiro that had asked Matt to come back for a weekend, though it was pure luck that his question had come at a time when Matt was, in fact, free from work.

When Mrs Holt came to pick Pidge up on Friday afternoon, Pidge looked a little concerned. Shiro had noticed it towards the end of the afternoon, but he knew Pidge would come to him if he needed something. It was only after Pidge spoke with his mother that he finally came up to Shiro. 

“Go ahead, honey,” Mrs Holt urged, as she placed her hands on the back of Pidge’s shoulders, “it’s alright.”

Pidge nodded, and hesitantly stepped forward. “Shiro, can you help me find a dress?”

Shiro let out a surprised noise. “A dress?” He asked, as he crouched in front of Pidge. “I thought you liked your boy clothes.”

“I do!” Pidge exclaimed, before shrinking again. “But… but the last time Matt was here, I was wearing a dress,” he mumbled, “so I want to wear one again when he comes back.”

“I see,” Shiro said. He wondered if Pidge was afraid that maybe Matt wouldn’t like anyone other than Katie, even though he knew that wasn’t the case. It was a fear Pidge would have for some time yet, even when not in regards to his beloved older brother. “Are you sure you don’t want your mother or father to go with you?”

Pidge shook his head, looking stricken. “You have to come!” Pidge said. “You know Matt, and Miss Allura always has nice dresses, so you must know what’s pretty, too…”

Shiro gave Pidge a surprised look. He’d never thought about it like that. He wouldn’t exactly say that Allura’s tastes in clothes had rubbed off on him, or that he’d know what would look good on a child, but he wouldn’t tell Pidge that. If Pidge needed Shiro to give him a confidence boost, then Shiro could definitely do that.

After a tentative glance up at Mrs Holt, of whom he received a hopeful nod from, Shiro turned back to Pidge. He couldn’t promise that he’d really be able to help, but it reminded him of when Pidge was still very little, only just learning to walk, and Shiro would babysit him. Back then, Pidge had looked to Shiro for guidance, too. It was a role Shiro had no qualms about fulfilling. “When do you want to go?”


	82. Green

“Thank you, Mrs Holt.”

“It’s no problem at all, Shiro,” Mrs Holt said, as she finished buckling Pidge’s car seat into Shiro’s car. “Thank you again for taking him, I know it means a lot. He really looks up to you.”

Shiro smiled a little. He knew this was important to Pidge, so he wanted to make it as perfect as he could. “We should be back before lunch time,” he said. “Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine.” She hesitated for a moment, before sighing. “Are you sure this alright? I know you’re his teacher now…”

“It’s fine,” Shiro said, surprised. He’d actually thought about that a little himself, but with Pidge, it was hard to distinguish the line between teacher and family friend. If he were being completely honest, he didn’t quite mind if that line blurred a little. The Holts, Pidge included, were as close to family as anyone was ever going to get.

 

Pidge seemed smaller than usual as Shiro led him into the shopping centre. He had a tight grip on Shiro’s hand, like he was afraid of becoming lost. Of course, Shiro would never let that happen, not with how keenly he watched out for Pidge. Without Pidge’s parents around, Shiro was solely responsible for Pidge’s care, and he took that responsibility very seriously. 

“You feeling alright, buddy?”

Pidge nodded hesitantly, but his tightening fingers betrayed his nervousness. 

Shiro sighed, and on a whim, he reached down to lift Pidge up into his arms. “Don’t worry, we’ll find something,” he said, as he offered Pidge a small smile.

Pidge offered one in return, and settled against Shiro’s hip without a word.

“Do you have anything in mind?” Shiro asked. “Like a colour, or a pattern?”

Pidge shook his head. His fingers nervously tightened in Shiro’s shirt, so Shiro was sure to keep his facial expression neutral. It didn’t matter to him if Pidge was nervous or not, though he would have preferred Pidge to feel comfortable. Shiro would do all he could to make this a good experience for Pidge.

Sometimes, he wondered if Pidge really felt more comfortable presenting as a boy. He’d never doubt Pidge’s decision, or try to change it, but he wondered if Pidge realised he could be whatever gender he wanted to be. That even though he’d insisted on being a boy, if he felt like a girl, he could be that too. It wasn’t a permanent decision for him; he would always have room to grow. 

Dress shopping, as it turned out, was not as simple as Shiro had expected. Mrs Holt had given him Pidge’s size, so that wasn’t a problem, but finding something that inspired Pidge to put it on was not easy. Shiro really didn’t have much of an eye for feminine clothing, but he was trying his hardest.

“What about this one, Pidge?” He asked, as he gently pulled a yellow sundress out from a rack.

Pidge was frowning, as he had been for the last dozen dresses Shiro had found, but he didn’t seem as disdainful now. “It’s okay,” he mumbled. “I like the colour.”

“How about I hold onto it for now and see if we can find something better?” Shiro suggested.

Pidge nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem”

And it really wasn’t. They still had hours before Shiro had to get Pidge home, and Shiro was in no rush. He knew Pidge would warm to the idea of wearing girl’s clothes as they spent longer in the shops. It was just a matter of finding the right dress at the right time.

“What about this one?” Shiro asked, as he pulled another dress off a different rack. It was blue, with white polka dots and a bow around the middle. He thought it was cute, but for some reason, it reminded him more of Lance than of Pidge.

“It’s okay,” Pidge said.

Shiro added it to the to-try-on pile over his arm. “Do you see any others you like?” He asked. He’d had to put Pidge down so he could carry the dresses, but he still had a firm grip on Pidge’s hand.

Pidge glanced around, and eventually shook his head.

“Let’s go try these ones on then,” Shiro said. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t like them, but let’s see, yeah? Maybe you’ll like a colour, or a shape, and we can work with that. Does that sound okay?”

“Yeah,” Pidge nodded.

The changing rooms were thankfully empty. Shiro was unsure about which to take Pidge into, but Pidge only pursed his lips, and took himself and his dresses confidently into the boy’s one. For some reason, it made Shiro breathe a sigh of relief. 

Pidge was quick to try on his dresses. The first one, the yellow, did look cute on him, but it didn’t fit his style. The blue was the same. 

“I like this,” Pidge said, as he pointed to the neckline of the blue. It was high, and straight cut – probably the least feminine part of the dress. “But…”

“It’s alright,” Shiro said, as he smiled again. “I understand. Totally not your style, huh?”

Pidge smiled too, comforted by Shiro’s words. “Nah.”

“Alright, you get changed back into your clothes, and then we’ll continue looking, yeah?”

After leaving the dresses on the rack on the changing room, Shiro carefully lifted Pidge up into his arms, and they ventured back out into the store. Pidge wasn’t as tense as before, and Shiro counted that as a win. Maybe he’d been afraid of putting on a dress for the first time after so long.

They spent some time browsing the racks before Shiro wondered if it was maybe best they ask for help. Pidge was staring at the racks the same way he stared at a particularly hard math problem, so perhaps it was a good idea. He was about to give in and find an attendant when a dress caught his eye.

It was green, with the high neckline Pidge liked. He wasn’t quite sure if it counted as a dress, because the bottom part was like shorts instead of a skirt, but it was close enough, right? And it was Pidge’s favourite colour, too. 

He’d picked it up and offered it to Pidge before asking if Pidge liked it, feeling hopeful. Pidge gave the dress a wide-eyed look, before shyly pressing his face against Shiro’s neck. Shiro only smiled, and took it as a good sign as he led Pidge back to the dressing room.

The dress fit well, and even had pockets. When Pidge exited the dressing room with a grin, Shiro knew they’d found the right one. 

He carried a smug Pidge to the register, the dress held in his free hand. The attendant behind the desk looked rather charmed by Pidge’s cute smile, and Shiro didn’t particularly blame her.

“Is this your child?” She asked, with a friendly smile. “The dress is going to look perfect.”

Pidge hid another shy look in the crook of Shiro’s neck. Shiro forced an embarrassed smile. “He’s not mine,” Shiro said, “I’m just in charge of dress shopping.”

“Oh!”

Shiro hadn’t ever considered having children, but if he did, he’d want them to be kind-hearted and smart like Pidge. Someone warm like Hunk, too. And adventurous like Keith and Lance.

After purchasing the dress, they exited the store. Pidge insisted on holding the bag, even though he didn’t want to be put down. He looked rather happy with himself.

It made Shiro pleased. “Ready to go home?”


	83. Invitation

Pidge looked mighty pleased with himself as he carried his shopping bag inside. Shiro was busy unbuckling Pidge’s car seat, and didn’t notice Mrs Holt coming out to greet him until she was reaching in to help him with the seat. 

“I see that Pidge has found himself something to wear,” she said, eyeing her child curiously. “Thank you for taking him. He looks quite satisfied.”

“We found something nice,” Shiro said with an easy smile. He glanced back towards the front door of the Holt’s house, and saw Pidge enthusiastically showing off his dress to Mr Holt. “Hopefully it makes him feel good.”

Mrs Holt sighed, but she was nodding in agreement. “You know, I’m really relieved that you became a teacher,” she said. “It took a great deal of worry off of my shoulders.”

Shiro gave her a puzzled look as he suddenly sensed a change in their conversation. He wondered just how worried Mrs Holt had been about Pidge, but when he thought about it, he knew her concerns weren’t unfounded. 

But in the last year or so, Pidge had grown a lot. He had friends who cared for him dearly and a seemingly endless supply of curiosity and intelligence. Not to mention he was assertive enough to ask for a dress, even if he had needed a little encouraging. Now he was more vocal than Shiro had remembered him being, and more excitable, like he wasn’t afraid to express his opinions.

Pidge seemed confident in himself. 

“I don’t think it’s all just my doing,” he said, as he cottoned on to her line of thinking. “Pidge has a lot of good friends, and they’ve really helped boost his self-esteem. Allura encourages him a lot, as well.”

“Oh, Allura too?” Mrs Holt asked. “I hear quite a lot about her from Pidge, though I’ve only met her a handful of times myself. I always catch Coran when I have meetings at Altea.”

Shiro chuckled. “Well, Allura does get quite busy at times,” he said. “She’s very popular with the children, but even at home it’s a challenge to get her to relax.”

Mrs Holt was the one to give him a surprised look then. “Are you two together?”

Shiro flushed, and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, we’re living together now. The kids don’t really know…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she chuckled, dismissively waving a hand. “I won’t tell. Does Matt know?”

“Yeah.”

“Well why don’t you bring her over tonight? I’m sure he’d like to meet her properly, too,” Mrs Holt suggested. “I’m sure Pidge wouldn’t mind, either.”

“I-if you’re sure, I could ask her.”

“Perfect! You’re still coming over at six tonight, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright,” Mrs Hold smiled. “I’ll see you then!”


	84. Impression

Shiro wouldn’t say he was nervous, but he was very excited to see Matt again. Even more so because Allura was going to be meeting him, too. He hadn’t taken long to get ready, but he’d done so a little early, just because he had nothing better to do.

“You fed Panther and Balmera didn’t you, Shiro?” Allura called from the bathroom. 

“I did,” he replied, as he watched her walk from their bedroom to their bathroom and then back again. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she sighed, as she exited their bedroom again. “Does this look alright?”

“It looks perfect,” he said. _Like usual._ She was wearing dark pants and a navy blouse, and she had the bracelet Shiro had given her clasped around her wrist. Somehow, she’d managed to tame her long hair into a bun on top of her head, framed by pretty braids. It seemed simple, but looked beautiful. She _always_ looked beautiful. 

“Well, if you say so,” she finally relented, as she gave him a small smile. “I just want to make a good impression.”

Shiro didn’t bother to mention that he’d already talked about her to Matt more than a dozen times. Matt probably knew her just as well as anyone. He’d already said that he liked her, just because Shiro did. 

“You’re nervous,” he said, as he rested his chin in his hand. 

Allura flattened her hair down once more. “How keen of you to notice,” she said, though her voice wasn’t cold. “Of course I’m nervous. I’ve never really met the Holts aside for when they come to the kindergarten.”

“Pidge will be glad to see you,” Shiro said. He opened his arms and gestured for Allura to step closer, which she did. He put his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her chest. The faint scent of her sweet smelling perfume reached his nose. “You’ll be alright,” he said with a small smile. “Just be yourself and they’ll love you.”

“I guess I’m just nervous,” she sighed into his hair. “Matt is a very important person to you, so I want him to like me.”

“He will.”

“But what if he doesn’t?”

“He will,” Shiro repeated. “You’re a very likeable person, you know.”

She laughed a little. “You’re just saying that.”

“Even if I am, it’s still true,” he said. 

She smiled at him too, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Alright, if you say so then. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

After double checking that they’d locked all the doors and that the cats were alright, they headed out. Shiro would be driving because he knew the way, and although they spent the drive in relative silence, Allura had her hand resting on his thigh the entire time. 

“Are you still nervous?” He asked, as he pulled into the Holt’s driveway. 

“A little,” she confessed. 

He parked the car, and pulled the keys from the ignition. “Don’t worry too much,” he said, as he reached for her hand. “They’ll love you.”

She gave him another small smile.

They exited the car, and he moved around to her side so that he could take her hand. He was a little nervous too, because Pidge had never really seen them act as a couple. 

But his nerves bled away as Pidge pushed the front door open. A wedge of light fell across the yard, and then Pidge appeared, wearing his green dress and a broad smile. “Shiro, Miss Allura!” He cried, as he came to greet them. “You’re finally here!”

Shiro smiled too, unable to help himself, and bent down a little to catch Pidge in his arms. “Hey, buddy. Is Matt here yet?”

“Not yet!” Pidge said, as he put his arms around Shiro’s shoulders. He was still grinning. “But he’ll be here soon, he promised! Are you going to come inside?”

“Of course we are.”

Pidge leaned over, arms outstretched, so that Allura could carry him instead. “Is my dress okay, Allura? Shiro helped me pick it.”

Allura seemed surprised to suddenly find Pidge in her arms, but she smiled nevertheless, and nodded. “It’s stunning, Pidge. You chose well.”

Pidge grinned again. “Thank you!”

Allura grinned too. She suddenly didn’t seem quite so nervous anymore.


	85. Grin

Mr and Mrs Holt were quite pleased to see Allura accompanying him. A round of compliments followed them entering, and then Pidge was keenly showing off his home and his dog, Rover. 

It was nice to see that Rover remembered Shiro, too. He came right up to Shiro, and patiently waited to be greeted and pet. Shiro couldn’t help but smile at Rover’s overtly loyal nature. The Holts had gotten Rover for Matt about a year before Pidge was born, and after Matt left for his Garrison duties, he’d asked Rover to take care of Pidge for him. 

Sometimes, Rover was more overprotective than Pidge’s parents. 

“Just through here,” Mrs Holt said, as she led everyone into the dining room. “Matt should be home soon, so we can set the table.”

Shiro and Allura helped out before taking a seat to chat. He was sure to have Allura seated by him, just in case she felt uncomfortable or left out. When Allura silently reached for his hand under the table to hold, he didn’t say anything. 

It was nice to speak with the Holts again. Shiro couldn’t remember the last time they’d had a conversation about something other than Pidge’s education at Altea, so he was glad to have some down time. Spending it with Allura only made it even better.

No more than ten minutes later, Shiro heard a car pull into the driveway. Rover was up from his position at the foot of Pidge’s chair in seconds, barking at the front door. Pidge was quick to follow with an excited cry. Shiro stood to follow as an eager feeling swept over him. If not for his hand clasped in Allura’s, he probably would have been right on Pidge’s heels.

“Matt!” Pidge cried, as he threw himself at Matt. Shiro watched from the front doorway, where he was soon joined by Matt’s parents, as Matt stepped out of his car.

He looked just like Shiro remembered him, if perhaps a little taller. Pidge looked so much like him that it was startling – they had the same brown hair, the same coloured eyes, and they both wore glasses. The two of them even had the exact same cheeky grin, one that never failed to remind Shiro of them whenever he saw it.

“Pidge,” Matt grinned, as he swung his little brother up into his arms. “You’ve grown so much, look at you!”

Pidge laughed, and threw his arms around Matt’s neck. He looked so _happy._ “You’re finally back,” Pidge said, as he gave Matt a positively dazzling grin. 

“Yeah, I’m back,” Matt agreed. He carefully set Pidge down, and when he glanced back up, he caught sight of Shiro. Another grin came across his face. “Shiro!”

Shiro grinned too, suddenly feeling elated. Allura watched him for a moment before chuckling to herself and letting go of his hand. He met Matt halfway up the driveway in a hug that had perhaps a little too much oomph behind it, but he didn’t care. 

Matt had always felt like home.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Matt said against his shoulder. His arms were pleasantly tight around Shiro’s waist. “You look a lot better.”

Shiro laughed. “I feel better,” he said. “I’m really glad you’re back.”

“Me too. I missed everyone a lot.”

“We missed you too.”

“Hurry up, Shiro,” Pidge whined, as he reached for Matt’s hand. “Matt has to meet Miss Allura now!”

“Oh, that’s right,” Matt said, eyes wide, as he pulled away. “Where’s this pretty girlfriend of yours, huh, Shiro? I’ve been waiting to meet her forever. Still can’t believe you finally have a girlfriend, actually!”

“Matt!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually like to carry out a single scene or event over so many chapters, but I've been completely exhausted after starting my first job, so these are all I can manage without falling asleep at my keyboard. I hope they're still enjoyable to read ❤


	86. Friend

“I’m Allura,” Allura said, as she held out her hand.

Matt took it without hesitation, and gave her a dazzling grin that was exactly like Pidge’s. “Oh, I know,” he teased, “you’re all Shiro talks about these days!”

A pretty pink came to Allura’s cheeks as she gave Shiro a sideways glance. “Does he now? Only good things, I hope.”

“Of course, of course,” Matt laughed. “Only ever good things! Honestly, I had a perfect picture of you before we even met. He can get very descriptive, you know. Downright poetic, even.”

“Matt!” Shiro hissed, utterly embarrassed. He did _not_ sound poetic when he was talking about Allura. He didn’t even like poetry all that much! And sure, maybe he did talk about Allura a little bit too much, but that was only because she overlapped with work, and he wasn’t doing much else these days.

“Alright, maybe I’m exaggerating a little,” Matt conceded. 

It made Allura laugh. “Still, I’m glad to finally meet you too,” she said. “Shiro and Pidge speak of you quite highly.”

“Aw,” Matt said, grinning wide as he slung an arm up over Shiro’s shoulders. “Did you miss me that much, guys?”

They had, there was no doubt about it. Shiro owed Matt a lot more than he could give, and Matt’s friendship was one of the most important things he had to his name. He didn’t know where he would be without Matt and all the support he’d given Shiro over the years. 

After Matt greeted his parents, they all returned inside for dinner. Eating was a pleasant experience, filled with tales of Matt’s recent adventures and reports of Pidge’s improvements at the kindergarten. Shiro was happy to listen for the most part. It was nice to hear Matt’s voice in person. It was even nicer to see how much Pidge was enjoying himself.

Matt did comment on Pidge’s dress, too. “It’s very pretty on you,” Matt said, as Pidge did a spin to show it off. “I thought you’d be wearing boy clothes.”

Pidge blinked several times, looking a little unsure of himself. “I wanted to wear a dress just in case… just in case…”

He couldn’t seem to get the words out, and it made Shiro’s heart clench painfully. He didn’t quite know what Pidge was so frightened and insecure about, but he wished he did, so he could soothe those worries away. If Matt hadn’t suddenly gotten a knowing glint in his eyes, Shiro might have said something.

But Matt just smiled, the same bright smile as ever. “Everything looks good on my little brother, huh?”

And Pidge smiled too. 

After dinner, Matt disappeared out onto the back porch to take a breath of fresh air, and Shiro followed him. They sat on the top step, as they had done a hundred times before in their childhood. Shiro had missed it.

“How much longer until your Garrison work is done?” He asked.

“Not too much longer, a year at the most,” Matt said. “Then I can move back.”

“Will you?”

“Probably. The environment here is really good, and my family is here. The Garrison base isn’t that far away.”

Shiro nodded in agreement. “Pidge would love to have you back.”

Matt chuckled. “I know. I missed him so much. He’s grown a lot, huh?” He sighed wistfully. “I can’t believe how much I’m missing.”

“I have photos, if you want them,” Shiro offered. “Allura takes heaps, too.”

“Really?” Matt gave him a hopeful look. “Could you send them all to me?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

Matt leaned back on his hands, and sighed again. He sounded more at ease this time. “Allura is quite a woman, isn’t she? Real beautiful.”

Shiro flushed, and nodded. “She’s amazing.”

“I can tell,” Matt chuckled again. “You’re completely smitten.”

Shiro didn’t argue that.

“She doesn’t care much about this, does she?” Matt asked, his voice careful, as he flicked Shiro’s prosthetic.

Shiro shook his head. “Nah, she doesn’t really seem to realise that it’s different. I’m kind of glad about that.”

“Me too,” Matt said. “Does it give you much pain anymore?”

“Sometimes.”

Matt hummed. 

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while. Shiro didn’t mind much. He and Matt had been really close back in their training days, and he thought they’d been a great team. While their interests didn’t always overlap, they’d always gotten along. Shiro had never had a friendship like the one he had with Matt, and he didn’t think he ever would. 

“You know,” Matt started, “everyone at the Garrison still talks about the famous Shiro.”

Shiro raised his brows.

“Well you did set a bunch of flight records,” Matt reminded him. He rested his chin in his palm, and closed his eyes. “I miss having you there. It’s not the same.”

Shiro leaned his elbows on his knees, and closed his eyes too. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, so don’t apologise,” Matt reminded him. “You’ve done enough of that in the past.”

He had. He didn’t know how many times those words had left his mouth when he was recovering, but it was far too many. Matt had even shouted at him for it once. He’d cried, too.

“Are you happy now, though?” Matt asked. “You don’t miss the Garrison anymore?”

“I’ll always miss it,” Shiro said. He opened his eyes again, and looked up to the sky. Thousands upon thousands of glittering stars stared back at him. “I want to fly again.”

_But I can’t._

The words remained unspoken. “I love working at Altea, though,” he said, after a moment. “At first it was just because the kids gave me something else to focus on. If I worked there, then it was like I had no time to think about the Garrison anymore.”

“And now?”

“It’s different now,” Shiro confessed. “I love the kids, and I love Allura. It’s just… everyone there reminds me that there’s still things to enjoy. It’s hard not to get excited when a whole bunch of kids are loving the fact that there’s ants crawling in a straight line, or if there’s a bird in the tree, or something like that. Something I wouldn’t have ever noticed if they didn’t get so happy over it.”

Matt nodded in understanding. “Sounds nice.”

“It is.”

“Allura is nice, too.”

Shiro smiled to himself. “Yeah, she is. So you like her?”

“Definitely. How you managed to find someone like her, I’ll never know.”

Shiro laughed. “Me either.”

Matt smiled, and gave Shiro a fond look. “I’ll have to visit home more often,” he said. “I can come crash at your place.”

“If you don’t mind sharing it with two cats, sure.”

Matt snorted. “The more the better.”

Shiro smiled again. “I’m really glad to see you again, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Matt said. “Me too.”

There was a small knock on the back door. “Shiro, are you out here?”

He glanced back at the sound of his name, and spotted Allura peeking her head out of the door. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Mrs Holt said we’re having dessert now,” she said.

“Ooh, I hope it’s sponge cake,” Matt grinned.

“It is sponge cake!” Pidge shouted from inside.

“Good, good!”

Allura gave him a puzzled look as Matt headed in ahead of them. “I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

Shiro shook his head, and drew Allura into his arms. “Of course not. We were just catching up.”

She gave him a small smile, and returned his embrace. “I can see why you get along with him so well. He’s a lot like Pidge!”

He laughed a little, and pressed a small kiss to her forehead. “That’s very true. He’s a good guy.”

She nodded in agreement, and took his hand. “Shall we head back in, then?”


	87. Letter

Shiro ran his thumb over the open tab of the envelope clutched in his hands. Matt had quietly handed it to him as he had left the Holt’s home the previous night, and although Shiro had waited until the next morning to open it, he already knew what it was.

The Garrison seal on stuck on the envelope was a dead giveaway.

He’d felt a little sick when he thought about opening it, and he wasn’t sure why. It was a mixture of guilty excitement and dread, because although he knew it was from the Garrison, he didn’t know what it was for. What if they asked him to come back? If they did, would he go? With a great amount of guilt, he secretly thought he might consider it. But what if it was nothing, just an old letter or piece of paperwork from his discharge? Would he be disappointed? He wasn’t sure.

When he woke up early the next morning, he took the opportunity to sneak out of bed and open the letter. He knew he probably should have told Allura about it, but he wanted to know what was in the letter now, because he was probably overreacting. 

The letter was addressed to _Takashi Shirogane,_ and it made him cringe a little. It had been a while since he’d seen his full name like that; he much preferred just “Shiro”. But the Garrison was a stickler for rules and regulations and following orders, so he should have expected it.

He also should have expected that the letter was nothing too bad, especially not if they were getting Matt to deliver it to him rather than having it mailed. 

The letter was one sent to him to invite him to a reunion. 

He didn’t know if he was relieved or disappointed about that.

A reunion was a… funny idea to him, though not a humorous one. Lots of the people from his class no longer worked for the Garrison, or were no longer in active duty. Matt, for example, still worked for the Garrison, but was no longer working on the front lines or flying any heavy planes. He mostly did tech work now, well away from any explosives or fighting.

While the reunion wasn’t scheduled to happen for another month or so, the letter encouraged him to R.S.V.P as soon as possible. He’d have to think about it before saying he would go, but at least the letter wasn’t anything bad.

“Shiro?” A sleepy voice murmured. 

He glanced back towards the bedroom, and spotted Allura leaning against the doorway. She was yawning, and rubbing at her eyes. “Sorry, did I wake you?” He asked, as he set the letter down on the kitchen bench where he was seated. 

She shook her head, and wandered over. Shiro was a little surprised when she suddenly put her arms around his shoulders and slumped against him, but it was a pleasant sort of surprise. “I just couldn’t sleep without you there,” she mumbled.

A light flush came to his cheeks, so he hid his face in her neck. Her skin was still warm from sleep, and she smelt very faintly of the fabric softener they used to wash the bed sheets in.

“What got you up?” She asked around another yawn, as she put her fingers in his hair. It was a very relaxing gesture.

“I got a letter from the Garrison,” he said quietly. “There’s going to be a reunion for the people in my training class, so they invited me.”

She hummed. Her fingers didn’t still. “Are you going to attend?”

He shrugged. It felt like a very lost gesture. “I don’t know yet.”

“That’s alright,” she soothed, “there’s no need to rush your decision.”

Somehow, her support was very reassuring. She was right – he didn’t need to rush the decision. If he wasn’t comfortable returning to the Garrison, even for something like a reunion, then he didn’t need to go, did he? He bit his lip. “If I _did_ end up going, would… would you come with me?”

“Of course I would,” she said without hesitation. 

Shiro smiled faintly.

Allura sighed to herself, and yawned once more. “Can we go back to bed?”

It was his turn to laugh quietly. “Yeah, that sounds good.”


	88. Calendar

It just so happened that Shiro’s annual physiotherapy appointment happened to arrive within a week of him receiving his invitation to the Garrison reunion. It was something he usually forgot about, and this year’s appointment was no different. The only reason he remembered it was because Allura spotted it written down on a calendar he had left unpacked in a box from the move. 

“Should we put this up somewhere, Shiro?” Allura asked, as she absentmindedly flipped through the calendar. “There are important things written down in it.”

“Oh, sure.”

“You have an appointment next week written in here, too,” she said, as she wandered over to greet him in the kitchen. “For… physiotherapy?”

“Oh,” Shiro said again, as he turned away from the meal he was making. “I forgot about that. Is it already next week?”

“Yeah,” she said, as she propped the calendar up beside the microwave. “It’s important, right? Is it for your shoulder?”

He nodded, and glanced back at the calendar. His own handwriting stared back at him, crudely reminding him of his injury once again. He’d never liked going to physiotherapy, especially not in the years directly following the accident. Not only did the sessions more often than not hurt, but they served as a constant reminder than he was not whole. And sure, that feeling had slowly faded over the years, as had the pain, but that didn’t change the fact that he didn’t like the therapy. 

Helpful or not, it left him feeling damaged.

“Shiro?”

He glanced back at Allura. She had a concerned look on her face, and quickly stepped in between him and the calendar. “What is it?” He asked. 

“You’re going to go, aren’t you?”

He nodded, and glanced away. “I am. I just… don’t enjoy them, that’s all,” he said. “They only happen once a year, just to check that the movement in my shoulder is still good, but they’re just… not fun, or anything like that. I don’t like going.”

She hummed, and gave him a thoughtful look. She was quiet for a moment. “Does anyone go with you?” She asked.

Surprised by the question, he shook his head. He’d always gone alone.

“Would it help if someone did go with you?” She asked next. “Not necessarily me, but someone who you trust. Just so you’re not alone there.”

He felt the need to reassure her that he did trust her, but he squashed it. She probably already understood that. When he thought about going to physiotherapy with someone else, he felt a little strange. He always got frustrated and angry at his sessions, and often became very withdrawn afterwards. He wasn’t sure if he wanted anyone to see him like that. The sessions had always felt like very private moments, the kind he wasn’t meant to show anyone else.

But maybe it was time for a change. He’d counted on Allura countless times before, and she’d never failed him. She’d never made him feel bad for being vulnerable, or for not being strong. She forgave him for a lot of things he’d never forgive himself for. 

“If you don’t mind,” he started carefully. 

“Of course I don’t,” she said. “It’s in a week, is it not? That’s more than enough time to schedule someone to cover our shifts.”

He nodded, and let out a deep breath. Physiotherapy was never something he looked forwards to, but maybe he didn’t have to dread going to it so much anymore. 

“Wait a moment,” he said, as he glanced up again.

Allura gave him a puzzled look.

“I’ve never seen any workers at Altea other than you, Coran, and myself,” he said. “Will there be someone available to cover both of our shifts next week?”

Allura grinned. “Don’t worry about it.”


	89. Substitute

“Do you have everything?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure?”

“Yes, Allura.”

“Did you remember to grab your shoulder sling? I saw it buried in the same box that that calendar was in.”

“Got it right here.”

“And the paperwork? From last year, as well?”

“Yes.”

Allura was quiet for a moment. “Got your car keys, too?”

Shiro glanced at the pile of things he’d accumulated in front of him, per Allura’s orders. “Actually, no, I don’t have them.”

Allura made a triumphant noise that Shiro could hear all the way from the other end of the house. “I knew there was something we’d forget,” she said to herself.

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh a little. He was tense, of course he was, but it was strange that Allura was, too. He was only _advised_ to bring his sling, and his therapist would have a copy of all his past paperwork just in case he misplaced it, but she was adamant that he bring everything he might need. He didn’t know how she possibly remembered it all.

The physiotherapist’s office was about forty-five minutes away, so it wouldn’t be great if he did happen to accidentally leave something important behind. They would be stopping by at the kindergarten first at Allura’s request, so they really had to get going soon. 

“Alright, I think we have everything,” Allura said, as she emerged from the bathroom. “I’ve got pain killers and deep heat rub just in case.”

He gave her a small smile. She was really trying to think of everything, and it must have been at least a little stressful for her, but her attention to detail was very reassuring to him. Selfishly, he let it go on for a little while longer.

 

Eventually, they did make it to the kindergarten. Shiro drove because Allura would drive back from the physiotherapist, again at her insistence. He knew he would be sore afterwards, so he was glad she’d suggested it.

“We can’t stay for long,” Allura said, as she glanced at her watch, “but I just wanted to check in with Coran and the children for a moment.”

He wasn’t complaining. He’d become accustomed to seeing the kids almost every day, and they’d been upset when he’d told them he wouldn’t be coming in for a day. He swore Hunk almost cried, even though Shiro promised a dozen times that he would only be away for one day. To them, it must have seemed like years.

Besides, he was a little curious to see who Allura had called in a favour from. 

He was, however, very surprised to find that it was Alfor.

“Ah, Shiro,” Alfor said, as he spotted them walking in. He was crouched beside the group of little girls that Allura usually greeted first thing in the morning, but stood to offer his hand. The girls seemed disappointed to have his attention taken away. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“You too,” Shiro said with a smile, as he shook Alfor’s hand. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

“I used to, before my daughter took my job,” he laughed quietly. “Isn’t that right, Allura?”

Allura grinned broadly, and gave her father a hug. “What can I say? I’m a natural.”

Alfor chuckled. “Well, I’m only a substitute for today,” he said, as he glanced back towards the main room, where all the kids were playing or sitting together. “They have favourites, you know. I’m afraid I don’t make the cut with everyone.”

Shiro followed his gaze, and wanted to laugh when he saw his group of kids in their own corner. Lance was clearly pouting, his cheeks puffed out, and Keith was awkwardly trying to comfort him. Pidge and Hunk seemed to be off in their own worlds. “They’re usually a lot more energetic by now,” he said. The kids always rushed to greet him in the mornings when they arrived. He supposed it must have been very different for him not to be there when they came in that morning.

“They’ll be alright,” Allura said, as she put her hand on Shiro’s arm. Maybe she could tell he felt a little guilty about leaving the kids, even if it was only for a day. “This is important, anyway. Thanks for taking over, Father.”

“It’s quite alright,” Alfor said. “Even I do enjoy being with the children every once in a while. It will be nice to catch up with Coran, as well.”

Allura chuckled. “Don’t get into any mischief without me around.”

Alfor rubbed the back of his neck. He looked oddly chastised. “I make no promises, especially not with your uncle around…”

Allura rolled her eyes, but it was a teasing, exaggerated gesture. “Alright, alright, then if everything is fine here, we better get going.”

“Everything will be fine,” Alfor said. He turned to Shiro. “Good luck with your shoulder. If it hurts at all tomorrow, don’t feel pressured to come into work. I’m sure I can manage for another day if you need more time off.”

It was a very generous offer, one that made Shiro feel well looked after. Even though he knew he would be a little bit sore, he wouldn’t skip work. He’d miss it too much. Still, he thanked Alfor for his offer, because he really did appreciate it. 

“Let’s go, Shiro,” Allura said, as she cast a last glance at the kids. “They’ll be alright.”


	90. Injury

The physiotherapist’s office felt much like a doctor’s surgery. They arrived there a little early, but the wait was only ten minutes, and Shiro was in no particular rush. He usually arrived early, and was used to waiting for a short while. This time, with Allura’s hand clutched in his own, the waiting didn’t feel as exhausting anymore.

His therapist was a nice, quiet man. He spoke in a straight-to-the-point kind of way, and never got offended at Shiro’s anger or terse words. Maybe he’d become used to it over the years – he did therapy with a lot of amputees and veterans. 

Still, as much as Shiro admired his tenacious nature, that didn’t change the fact that he _did_ still get quite frustrated during his sessions.

“Try and rotate your shoulder back,” his therapist said, as he held Shiro’s elbow up. “I want to see how far you can get it to sit in its socket.”

Shiro grimaced, and bit the inside of his cheek to stop from cursing. He didn’t want to get angry in front of Allura, but a sharp, pulling feeling was starting to build up the move he moved his arm, and it was steadily becoming painful. 

“Alright, now hold your arm as high as it is now for as long as you can,” the therapist continued. He observed Shiro’s face for a moment, before asking, “How do you rate the pain?”

“Six,” he bit out.

The therapist gave him a stern look. “We’ve talked about this before, Takashi.”

“I thought I told you to just call me Shiro,” he muttered, irritated. After a silent moment, he sighed, and conceded. “Eight.”

“Alright, that’s to be expected,” the therapist said. “Your range of movement is still really good, even if you can’t rotate your shoulder all the way back.” He stretched out Shiro’s arm straight, and rotated it inwards. “Any pain in your elbow?”

Shiro wanted to point out that he _didn’t have an elbow,_ but he refrained. He knew what the therapist was asking – that if he was getting any pains from turning in his prosthetic elbow. Still, everything left him irritated. “No. There’s no pain.”

“Good, that’s an improvement,” he replied. It had still given him some pain last year, though not a lot. “And what about the wrist? Can you still move it freely?”

Shiro nodded. “No problems with it.”

“Good,” the therapist said again. “If your range of motion isn’t too impaired anymore, other than in the back of your shoulder, then I want to test your strength again.”

He definitely didn’t want to do that, because it was the worst part, but he knew it was necessary. After his accident, he’d hardly been able to lift anything with his prosthetic. His injury meant his muscles had weakened considerably, not even to mention how hard it had been to learn to use his new arm. As high-tech as it was, it still wasn’t _natural._

The strength tests were always the most painful. Shiro had spent countless hours in the gym after his accident, trying to build up muscle strength back in his shoulders. He knew he was strong, and that both of his shoulders were built with muscle, but that wasn’t the point. The exercises he had to do tested how far he could move in relation to his injury, and how deep it had went. They tested how well his body had adjusted to his prosthetic, and how strong it was in relation to the rest of him.

They hurt. His shoulders ached, his old injured always flared up, and the place where his prosthetic met whatever was left of his arm always felt twitchy, like he’d become twice as conscious of it as usual. 

At least he had his back to Allura. He was probably making a frightening face.

The exercises were the same every year. Shiro ran through them feeling a lot like a machine, and tried not to let out any uncomfortable grunts as the pain slowly started to creep down his arm. It felt like hours were passing, when it couldn’t have been that long. Sweat started to build on his brow, and noises started to slip out.

“You’re doing well, Shiro,” his therapist murmured. “Better than last year.”

It felt like a hollow comfort. How many more years of his life would he need to do this? He’d never escape the prosthetic, but the pain felt like salt rubbed into his wound.

“Just a little more,” the therapist murmured. 

“I can’t do anymore!” Shiro snapped, as he felt his arm start to buckle. The pain was like a hot flash down his spine, and he let out a cry as he stumbled, clutching at his shoulder. It felt red-hot beneath his palm.

“Shiro!” Allura lurched upright from the seat where she’d been nervously watching the whole time, her hands outstretched.

“I’m fine,” Shiro barked, before sucking in a guilty gasp and turning his head away. He never wanted to yell at Allura like that. “I’m fine,” he said, quieter, calmer. He only needed to do this once a year. Just once.

The rest of the session finished in relative silence. 

When it finally ended, Shiro was miserable. His therapist completed the paperwork, and turned to face Shiro again. “I’m glad you finally brought someone with you this time,” he murmured. Now you can wear your sling from the moment you leave, rather than waiting to get home.”

Shiro forced a tense smile. It wasn’t like he could drive with it on. 

“Okay, we’re done for today,” his therapist eventually said. “I want you to still do your exercises every day, and use pain medication whenever necessary. Try not to sleep on your arm for a week or so.”

“Just like usual,” Shiro said. He didn’t think he could even muster the strength to lift his arm anymore. 

Allura hovered around him as they left the physiotherapy office. She seemed hesitant, like she wanted to say something but was afraid of worsening his mood. 

He hated thinking that she was afraid of him.

“Do you have the sling…?” He asked quietly. 

Her eyes widened, and she nodded. She pulled it from her bag, and helped him slip his arm into it after he bent down a little. She offered him pain medication as well, which he gratefully took.

“I’m sorry for snapping,” he mumbled, as he settled his arm in the sling. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Don’t apologise,” Allura said, as she shook her head. She put her arm around his waist, and drew him down so that she could place a gentle kiss on his lips. “Your pain is your pain, and any way you choose to express it is valid. I know you don’t mean to get angry; your guilty face says everything.”

He lowered his eyes. He did feel guilty, and that feeling wouldn’t fade for a while yet. It never did. “I just want to go home.”

She caressed the back of his neck with a soft, careful hand. “Alright, then let’s go home.”


	91. Sore

The next day, despite returning to work, he didn’t wear his sling. He didn’t want the children to worry about him, and he’d managed to stay asleep off his arm (because, unbeknownst to him, Allura had woken herself up every couple of hours to check on him, and made sure she slept with her arm latched tightly around his waist to keep him in place) so he thought he’d be alright.

The pain, however, lingered.

For the most part, Shiro managed to avoid using his arm too much. He didn’t usually have to do any strenuous lifting, other than picking up the kids sometimes, and that wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t like he picked the kids up every day, anyway. 

But that day, Keith was upset. Shiro wasn’t quite sure what had him so teary-eyed, but he thought that maybe something had happened at home, but he’d noticed Keith sticking close by Lance all morning. It was only when Keith came up to him that he started to worry a little.

So he’d picked Keith up. He was sure to be careful, and held Keith primarily with his flesh arm. “You alright buddy?” He asked, but Keith didn’t reply, and just pressed his face into Shiro’s neck with a muffled noise. Shiro rubbed his back reassuringly, and tried to ignore the twinges starting to appear in his shoulder.

If that had been all he’d done, he thought he might have been alright. Allura was giving him sceptical looks from across the room, but he forced a small smile in her direction. He wouldn’t let his injury impair his work, especially not when one of his kids were upset. He knew he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he didn’t help them just because he was damaged. 

With an injured shoulder and a child on his hip, he sort of had his hands full. Shiro would have managed alright if he’d remembered that he was, in fact, quite sore, but with the chaos of the kindergarten it was hard to remember anything. 

When he spotted Lance accidentally knocking over a full cup of juice, he hadn’t thought about it before lurching to catch it. Pain rippled down his arm as he accidentally stretched too far.

“Shiro, be careful!” Allura said, as she suddenly appeared beside him to catch the cup. She put her hand on the small of his back to keep him upright.

“Shiro?” Keith asked shakily, his hands fisted in Shiro’s shirt. A distraught look was coming across his face. “Did I hurt you?”

“Of course not, Keith,” Shiro was quick to say, as he tightened his grip on Keith. “I’m just a little sore today, that’s all.”

Keith didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t protest the idea. “You’ll be alright though, won’t you?” he asked.

“He will,” Allura said, before Shiro could reply. Gently, she took Keith from Shiro. The relief in his shoulder was immediate. “You see, even adults get hurt sometimes, but Shiro will be fine. He’s very strong!”

Keith was nodding in agreement before Allura had even finished her sentence. To the children, it was like Allura’s word was law. They always believed everything she said, though it was hard not to – Shiro believed in her, as well. 

After she set Keith down beside Lance, Allura turned to him. “You should put your sling on,” she said, “just for the afternoon.”

Shiro didn’t really want to, but feeling oddly chastised, he didn’t argue. Allura only had his best interests in mind, and he knew she was probably right. He was just being stubborn. He hadn’t even noticed her packing his sling in the morning, but she evidently had.

“Does that feel better?” She asked, as he settled his arm in the sling. She was watching from office doorway. 

He nodded. “Yeah. Thank you.”

She put her arms around him when he pressed into her, being extra mindful of his arm. He didn’t know what he’d do without her watching out for him. Even if he didn’t like wearing the sling around the children, it would certainly help him recover a little faster. 

“You’re explaining to the kids how a robot arm can get hurt,” he muttered into her hair.

Her responding laugh was infectious.


	92. Gift

The next day, Keith was still abnormally quiet. It was easy to notice, especially because he was still sticking close by Lance. He was usually quite independent, and always willing to say his opinion, but it seemed that his demeanour had completely changed. 

Still, with Shiro’s arm feeling much better, he was free to follow the kids around as anxiously as he wished. He didn’t want to pressure Keith into talking about what bothered him, because he knew it would resolve itself eventually, but it did have him worried. Although Keith could be pretty tough and mature when he needed to be, he was still a child, and Shiro never wanted him to be upset when he could fix the problem. As an adult, and as Keith’s caregiver, he knew it was his duty to look out for him in any way he could.

Of course, surreptitiously following Keith around all day meant he inevitably started following Lance around, as well. Those two were practically joined at the hip these days, and he never really found one without the other. Even more so when one happened to be upset.

While he was supervising them, he noticed Lance building something odd. The children often made quite astounding creations when it was arts and crafts time, but this was something… different. It was _red._ Lance always made _blue_ crafts. It truly had Shiro puzzled, especially because it seemed to come out of nowhere.

Although, as the day started to progress, Shiro thought he might have understood Lance’s motives a little bit more.

In his own childish way, Lance was always looking out for Keith. As much as they fought and bickered, they were never really apart. They were best friends. It made sense that Lance would notice the small changes in Keith’s personality far before Shiro did – and to a child, it seemed like giving a gift was the best way to cheer each other up. 

Even if said gift was made from paddle-pop sticks, cardstock and lots of red glitter. 

When Lance was done with his creation, he proudly slid it across the crafts table towards Keith, and gave his friend a dazzling grin. “Here!”

Keith glanced between the red gift and Lance several times, looking a little uncertain. “Is… is that for me?” He asked hesitantly, as he reached forwards.

“Yeah!” Lance said cheerfully. “That’s why it’s red, duh!”

Keith laughed a little. It was the first time he’d sounded happy in the last two days, and somehow, his small smile seemed bigger than any of the others he’d ever worn. Gingerly, he cradled Lance’s gift in his hands. “Thanks.”

Shiro wasn’t quite sure what the gift was meant to be, but it was still interesting to look at. He thought it might have been a spaceship of some sort… the children were rather fond of building things like that. He’d lost count of how many times they played with their stuffed lions, claiming them to be “space lions” – lions that were also spaceships, or something similar. The mind of a child could be quite imaginative, he was learning. 

Regardless, Lance’s little gift cheered Keith up quite a bit. It was reassuring to see, and had Shiro finally feeling more at ease then he had all day. It was like Lance always knew what was best for Keith, even if he did figure it out in a roundabout, argumentative kind of way.

Perhaps it took the mind of a child to figure out what the mind of an adult couldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently realised that chapter 100 is coming up... ah, when did that happen? :') Just like with chapter 50, I want to do something a little special, just to celebrate. As always, any ideas are very much welcome, either here or on [my tumblr](http://milkteamiku.tumblr.com/) ^^


	93. Glasses

Pidge needed new glasses. Shiro heard about it from Matt, who took Pidge out to pick a new pair on his last day off before returning to the Garrison. It wasn’t like Pidge’s eyes were particularly bad, but the glasses did help. It was something that ran in the family – their father wore glasses, and Shiro remembered that Matt had had glasses back when he was Pidge’s age, as well. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for the Holts.

Unfortunately, Shiro also remembered how many people made fun of Matt for wearing them back when they were kids. The glasses Matt wore had never really bothered Shiro (he’d thought that the glasses had looked really cool, actually, though he’d never told Matt that) and he knew that Matt had never been too fussed by what anyone else said, but Pidge was different. Shiro always worried about him.

Of course, Pidge’s group of friends wouldn’t mind. They were just like Shiro – they thought Pidge’s glasses were cool, and they weren’t afraid of saying it. When Pidge showed off his new glasses after the weekend passed, Lance, Hunk and Keith were more than happy to compliment them. 

Hunk especially was quite fascinated with how they worked. He didn’t know much about lens types or anything like that, but the little screws holding the arms in place and the way the rims were shaped fascinated him. “I wonder if I’ll ever need glasses someday,” he said thoughtfully.

Shiro tried not to laugh much. Wishing for glasses perhaps wasn’t the best thing, but whatever made them happy, he supposed. If nothing else, at least it made Pidge laugh. He finally had something they wanted, didn’t he? The smug look on his face was infectious.

“Let me see!” Lance said, as he reached for Pidge’s glasses across the table they were seated at. Hunk handed them over, and Lance gave them a curious once-over before settling them on his nose. “Woah.” 

“Can you see well?” Shiro asked, amused.

“Not really!” Lance said, as he adjusted the glasses a little. They must have been a tad too small for his face. “Everything is kind of… blurry. But not bad! Pidge, do you really see better with these on?”

“Yeah,” Pidge said, nodding. “They make everything so much better for me! You should try Matt’s ones, they make everything look so dizzy. His are worse than mine.”

“Really? Wow.”

Shiro laughed a little that time. He’d put on Matt’s glasses before and had been dizzy for a solid minute afterwards. He was still half-convinced that Matt was at least partially blind, considering how thick his lenses were. Still, the glasses never bothered him. They never interfered with his work, either – in fact, without them, Matt surely wouldn’t be able to do what he was doing quite so well. 

None of the other kids at the kindergarten commented anything negative about Pidge’s glasses. They had a good group of kids, with no standout bully or hostile group that dominated over the others. If anything, they all got on marvellously well, even with the little spats kids naturally had here and there when they began to develop their own opinions. 

He didn’t have anything to worry about after all.


	94. Album

Allura was making a photo album. An assortment of photographs sat around their living room, which was starting to look awfully like the kindergarten when it happened to be crafts time. She had somehow managed to print off dozens of photos without Shiro noticing, and had them spread out in neat piles around her as she worked.

“I didn’t know you liked to do this,” he said, as he watched her slip another photo into the book. He was sitting on the couch behind her, his eyes flickering between whatever show happened to be on television at the time and her work (the latter of which was far more interesting). 

“I usually make one for each year of kids we get coming through at the kindergarten,” she said, as she turned her head to give him a smile. “I thought I’d get an early start on this one, though. This one is going to be just for us.”

He raised his brows, and leaned a little further off the couch so that he could see over her shoulder. He was surprised to see a lot of photos of himself with Allura – and, embarrassingly, that first one taken of them, when his hair had been full of glittery pins placed in there by his kids. He looked so mortified that he still felt embarrassed by it.

Proudly, Allura flipped a few pages back to show him more. There were photos he hadn’t realised had been taken, like ones of him with the kids, and one of him when he’d fallen asleep at work with them that one time. There were photos of them from Allura’s relative’s wedding, and a photo of him with Matt from a few weeks ago. He didn’t know where she’d found so many photos, because he certainly didn’t remember them being taken, but they made him smile.

“Will all those photos fit in that one album?” He asked. It was a pretty simple album with a plain cover, and it didn’t look terribly thick. Allura had printed off quite a big number of photos she wanted to include in it, too.

“Don’t worry, I’m certain they will,” she said with another charming grin. “Most of these pages can each hold four photos, with another four on the back. I just haven’t arranged them all how I want yet.”

He laughed quietly. “Well, I’m glad to see so many photos anyway,” he told her. “I didn’t realise you’d taken so many. When were these ones taken? I can’t even remember doing half of these things.”

“That’s because you do them every day,” Allura said. “Things like taking care of the children and cleaning up and standing a certain way become routine when they’re things you do frequently. I just like to take photos of the mundane things.”

He could see the appeal in that. If he had dozens of photos of Allura smiling at the children or reading a book or even doing something simple like washing up he would certainly treasure them. Maybe that was because it would be her in the photos.

Slowly, so he didn’t mess anything up, he slipped off the couch and sat down at the coffee table beside her. “Can I help?"


	95. Pyjamas

Every now and then, perhaps twice a year, Altea Kindergarten had a pyjama day. It was a day for everyone to relax, where they were encouraged to wear their pyjamas and bring their blankets if they so wished. Shiro did not know about pyjama day, however, until it was upon him and Allura was _insisting_ he wear his pyjamas to work. 

“Allura, I really don’t think this is-” Shiro huffed, and tried to reach for his shirt from Allura, who was having none of it. “I really don’t think this is appropriate.”

Allura gave him a cheeky smile, and kept his shirt out of his reach. “What do you mean? This is most certainly appropriate. It’s _pyjama_ day, Shiro, not I’ll-wear-pyjama-pants-and-that’s-it day.”

Shiro groaned. He didn’t really want to wear his pyjamas to work, mostly because it was too embarrassing. He didn’t have pyjamas that looked like normal clothes, unlike Allura, and he’d always worn presentable clothes around the children. How was he meant to wear pyjamas pants and an old shirt when he was around the kids all day? Just thinking about it made him cringe. He’d relented on the pants already, but the shirt as well was just… too much.

“Honestly, it’ll be fine, Shiro,” Allura said, as she tucked his shirt under the mattress of their bed, like that could possibly stop him from getting it on. “Everyone always wears their sleep wear. You’ll feel much more awkward being the only one dressed in casual clothes.”

He sighed, and ran his hand down his face. Since he’d started living with Allura, he’d gotten to know when he was going to win a disagreement with her and when he wasn’t, and this was most certainly the latter. It was only for one day, right? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. 

 

Just like Allura had said, all the children arrived for the day dressed in their pyjamas. The sight of them had their parents wearing these weird smiles, like they were embarrassed for their kids, even though the children themselves didn’t seem to mind. 

Shiro felt ridiculous in his pyjamas, but work was a good distraction. They still had their day filled with planned activities, and the change in clothes didn’t particularly alter that – aside from their leisure time, of course. There would be movies and blanket-fort building, courtesy of Coran, later in the afternoon. 

When his kids arrived, he was secretly pleased to see them wearing pyjamas, too. Unsurprisingly, their pyjamas were all their favourite colours. 

Pidge’s were green, and dragged at his ankles a little, because they were perhaps a size too big. There was some sort of robot print on the front. Hunk’s were yellow, and had Winnie the Pooh printed on the shirt; it didn’t button down like Pidge’s did. They both looked quite comfy.

What was surprisingly, however, was that Keith and Lance had matching pyjamas featuring those red and blue pilots they loved. Even if Lance was maybe a centimetre taller than Keith, they wore the same size, and they had the same style of sleep wear with a button down flannel and a thin shirt underneath. Keith’s pyjamas were red, and Lance’s were blue. They looked quite comfy, honestly.

“They just love that show,” Lance’s mother explained, as Shiro gave her a questioning look at the sight of their matching clothes. “Keith always comes over to watch it with Lance at our home on the weekends. Lance really wanted to get him the pyjamas as a present, and I… well, I just couldn’t say no. But it’s cute, isn’t it?”

It was cute. Too cute for words, actually. Somehow, it had never occurred to Shiro that the kids interacted with each other outside of the kindergarten. He didn’t see them when they were at their homes or school, after all, aside from when he visited the Holts. 

“See, I told you wearing pyjamas wouldn’t be so bad,” Allura said, as she sidled up to him after all the kids had arrived. “Look, everyone is participating! They even brought their blankets and pillows. The children love pyjama day.”

He laughed a little. “Alright, alright, I get it. You were right.”

“Now that is what I love to hear.”

Allura’s pyjamas were cute, too. At home, she preferred to wear an oversized shirt (frequently, they were coming from Shiro’s half of the wardrobe) or an old shirt and pyjama shorts, but sometimes she wore a pyjama set or a nightdress. That’s what she’d chosen to wear for the day – a long nightdress, one that was white in colour with bits of lace and ruffles. It went down past her knees and had small sleeves, so it was still appropriate to wear when dealing with children. 

Somehow, Shiro just couldn’t help but think that the best pyjamas award would have to go to Coran. After all, who else would be brave enough to wear pyjamas covered in orange moustaches, complete with a matching eye mask?


	96. Pillow

The kids were fighting.

Maybe he should clarify that: the kids were fighting with _pillows._ They were tripping over their blankets and screaming with laughter and somehow, in the middle of all of that, they were managing to hit each other with their pillows. Shiro didn’t even know when the pillow fight started, but suddenly there were brave cries being thrown about and battle charges being made. It was chaos. 

Children could be downright _dangerous_ with pillows, Shiro had no doubt of that now. He could never remember being so enthusiastic about pillow fights when he was their age.

“Take this,” Pidge cried, as he slammed his pillow into Keith’s shoulder. “Ha!”

Keith rounded on him, grinning, and gave Pidge back as good as he got. Somewhere along the way, Pidge and Hunk had teamed up against Keith and Lance. Shiro didn’t know how the winners were decided, or what the goal of the game was, but the kids seemed to understand perfectly fine on their own. 

“Mr Shiro, you have to join our team!” Pidge said, as he lifted his pillow to defend a shot from Lance. 

“No way, that’s cheating!” Lance gasped. “Shiro has to join our team! Right, Keith?”

“Right!” Keith nodded.

Shiro laughed awkwardly, and held his hands up in defence. “I think I’ll stay neutral this time,” he said, even when the kids all pouted up at him. “Really, I didn’t even bring a pillow-”

Suddenly, something whacked him across the back of the head. He let out a surprised noise, and turned to find that Allura had snuck up on him. She was grinning broadly, and had both their pillows from their bed clutched in her raised arms. 

“Got you,” she said, as she thrust his pillow at him, “a point for team Pidge and Hunk!”

The kids cheered in agreement as Allura came to their aid. Feeling oddly outnumbered, Shiro gave her a bewildered look. “You stole the pillows off our bed?”

“I snuck them into the car when you weren’t looking,” Allura informed him smartly. She put a hand on her hip, and raised a brow at him. “Now are you going to fight back or not?”

“Please, Shiro!” Lance begged, as he tugged at the hem of Shiro’s shirt. “Now their team has more than ours! You have to play with us so we can win!”

Shiro hesitated, but a childish part of him had him quickly relenting. A smile came to his face. “Alright, if you insist.” And then, in one go, he knocked Allura’s pillow right out of her hands. “Point for Lance and Keith!”

“Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be, huh?” Allura said, as a challenging spark appeared in her eyes. “Fine then! But we’re so going to win.”

She didn’t win. They played until the kids tired themselves out and sank to the floor in comfortable heaps, where the adults soon joined them. Coran brought everyone bottles of juice and sat down too – he’d been involved in the pillow fight, and had been quite… enthusiastic. Shiro didn’t mind, even if he had received a pillow to the face quite a few times.

“We totally won that,” Lance said, as he hugged his pillow to his chest. He and Keith were sharing one of the large beanbags in the recreation room, and were seated across from Pidge and Hunk. 

“No way,” Pidge argued. 

“There’s no real winner in pillow fights anyway,” Hunk said, before his friends could disagree anymore. “It was just fun, right?”

That seemed to settle them down well enough. Hunk was definitely the peacemaker amongst them, when no one else would be.

Shio himself was sitting on one of the beanbags, too. Well, it was more like he’d sunk straight into it, and he was far too drained from their pillow fight to bother getting back up. Allura had collapsed next to him too, and every time she fidgeted, their knees brushed together. Even if it wasn’t hard work, keeping up with the kid’s energy certainly took a lot out of him. It was another thing he didn’t particularly mind.

As the kids chatted amongst themselves and Coran went to find a movie to put on, Allura turned to face him. She watched quietly him for a moment, until her gaze caught his attention and he gave her a puzzled look. She smiled at him. “Told you that you would enjoy pyjama day.”


	97. Crystal

“There’s a new child joining our class today,” Allura said, as she swivelled in her office chair to face him. “A girl. She’s been here a few times before, so she’s not exactly new, but you know what I mean.”

Shiro glanced up from the paperwork he was writing to glance back at Allura. He’d been at Altea Kindergarten for a while now, and while there had been a few new students here and there, it was odd to get one at this time of year. Even more so if she’d been a student at the kindergarten before. “Do her parents move around a lot?”

“Yeah,” Allura nodded. “They’re lovely people, though. Her father is a geologist, and her mother is a biologist, so they go where their work takes them. They have an older son, too. He’s in high school.”

“Moving around must be hard on the kids,” Shiro said.

“Perhaps, but they’re always polite, and never seem too anxious. Well, Shay is polite. Her brother is going through his rebellious years.”

Shiro chuckled. “Shay, huh? Does she get along with the kids here?”

“Oh, marvellously!” Allura said. “She and Hunk are best friends. They’re always inseparable when she’s here.”

“Really?”

“Really. Hunk just loves playing with Shay. Last time she was here, she gave him a special crystal from her father’s collection – with his permission, of course. He brings it in for show and tell sometimes.”

Shiro nodded. He’d seen the crystal before when Hunk had brought it in, and had seen how carefully Hunk cared for it. The crystal was obviously something very precious to him. Hunk was going to be so happy to hear that his friend was returning for a while. “Do you know how long she’ll be here for?”

“A month, at most,” Allura said. “Their home is several hours away from here, but whenever her parents are doing work close by, they always enrol her at Altea. They’re not usually in this town for more than four weeks, though.”

It seemed like such a short time. Shiro hated thinking that the child was constantly being uprooted, but Shay wasn’t his child to raise, and as long as she was growing healthily, that was all that mattered. They’d have to do something special for Shay when she had to leave, though.

As the morning progressed and the children started to arrive, Shiro prepared the paperwork for Shay’s enrolment at the kindergarten. It was easy, and mostly done already, now only requiring a few signatures. He was sort of excited to meet one of Hunk’s friends too, even more so that it was because it was _Hunk’s_ friend. Anyone who managed to gain the favour of such a happy kid must be someone special themselves. 

Shay was one of the last children to arrive for the day. She was taller than Hunk, and Lance too, but she had a softness to her face and bright, perceptive eyes. When she spoke, her voice was soft and sweet. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, as she tentatively offered Shiro her hand. “My name is Shay.”

He wondered how many times she’d said those words in her life, but they came out sweetly, and weren’t forced. Gently, he took her hand in his, and shook it. He hoped his prosthetic fingers weren’t too cold on her skin. “It’s nice to meet you too, Shay,” he said, smiling. “My name is Shiro.”

She smiled up at him too, looking oddly relieved. “Is Hunk here yet, Mr Shiro?”

“Yes he is,” Shiro chuckled. “Shall we go find him, then?”

She nodded, and uncaringly reached for his prosthetic hand to hold. He gave Allura a glance over his shoulder, and she nodded at him – she would take care of the paperwork with Shay’s parents. 

Hunk and the other children were sitting in the recreation room, playing with toys from the rewards trunk while they waited for the day to start. He led in Shay by the hand, and didn’t need to even call for Hunk before Hunk noticed her at the doorway.

The way his eyes lit up with excitement was adorable. “Shay!” Hunk cried, as he clambered up onto his feet. “You’re back!”

Shay laughed, and eagerly returned Hunk’s hug. Pidge, Keith and Lance came to greet her too, and satisfied that they would be fine, Shiro let them be. It was nice to see them all reunited. He hoped that Shay would enjoy her stay at Altea Kindergarten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't originally planned to include Shay in this story at all, but I was asked about her a few times, so I decided to write her in ^^ Shay is such a sweet character, after all~ ❤


	98. Coffee

Shiro had always been an early riser. It was something he learned to appreciate during his time in the Garrison, where rising early and waking swiftly were things strictly expected of the cadets. His body had become used to not sleeping in, and even now, years later, that was no different.

However, waking up _extra_ early wasn’t something he really appreciated. 

Panther was a quiet cat. Sometimes he didn’t sleep indoors at night, and he never really meowed or made noise. Technically, he still wasn’t their cat, but he was _their_ cat. 

On the other hand, Balmera turned out to be… nosy. Not particularly noisy, but very nosy. Allura had a habit of mostly shutting their bedroom at night, and Shiro didn’t mind, but Balmera did. He usually slept at the beginning of the night, but always woke up during the early morning, and was never pleased to find their door shut. Somewhere along the way, he’d realised that he could slip through the gap in the door to bother them.

His meowing for food always woke Shiro up far too early. He’d jump onto the bed and walk all over them before finding deciding to sit with his tail flopped over Shiro’s face until Shiro woke up. And sure, he gave up and let them be after Shiro got up to carry him from the room and shut the door properly, but that still meant that he had to actually wake up, which was never any good.

Allura could always tell when Balmera had woken him in the morning. She’d glance at him, and laugh, and always made his morning coffee a bit stronger. 

“We have a big day planned, I don’t want to be tired,” he complained, as he took his mug from her. Coran had bought a bunch of musical instruments from a garage sale, or something of the like, and they were going to give them to the kids to play with today. Shiro thought it was a great way to welcome Shay back properly, and he just knew the kids were going to love it.

“Don’t worry too much, you’ll perk up as soon as the kids start bashing around on the instruments,” Allura said teasingly, as she came up behind him to press her cold hands against his forehead. “We’ll close the door properly from now on.”

He smiled a little, and leaned back against her. Even if he woke up miserable, a single reassurance from Allura was enough to sooth all his worries.


	99. Music

As tired as Shiro was (he blamed the damn cat), he did perk up the moment the kids started playing with the instruments, like Allura had said he would. 

Coran had the box of instruments sitting at the front of the room with him. The kids were on the floor, sitting in a circle so that everyone could see what instrument Coran was showing them. Shiro and Allura were standing to the side, content to watch. This had been Coran’s idea, after all.

For the most part, Coran was pretty knowledge about the instruments. Things like the guitar, the tambourines and the maracas were easy to explain and fun to pass around. There were handheld cymbals and bell sticks too, and even a little coloured glockenspiel that the kids couldn’t manage to pronounce. 

Some of the other instruments, however… utterly stumped him.

Like the triangle, for example. Coran lifted it out of the box, and gave it a puzzled look as he held it up. “And here we have…”

“It’s a triangle,” Pidge said.

“Yes, I can see that, Master Pidge,” Coran said. He gave Shiro a side-eyed glance.

“It’s a triangle,” Shiro said as he tried not to laugh too much. “That’s its name. There should be a beater for you to hit it with somewhere in the box.”

“Oh.” Coran glanced down at the triangle, then at the box, before producing a metal beater tied with the same ribbon the triangle was. The triangle chimed with a metallic tang when he hit it gently. “Oh, what a simple instrument!”

The kids laughed. Shiro and Allura did, too. Coran seemed a little embarrassed, but the grin on his face was infectious. 

The only real struggle he had was with the triangle. It seemed fitting that the most well-known instrument to children was the one that Coran, the man with facts on everything, knew absolutely nothing about. At least he knew now, Shiro supposed.

Once the instruments had been explained, the kids were free to play with them. There was enough to go around, and the kids were good at sharing. 

Pidge and Hunk used the small drum set first. Pidge was rather interested in the cymbals and the sounds they made, even if the ringing did begin to hurt his ears after a while. Hunk seemed to enjoy playing the drums, too – he could get a good rhythm going after a bit, though he struggled to maintain it for long.

Keith and Lance were more interested in the guitar. Well, Keith was. Lance was just interested in whatever Keith was interested in. Neither seemed like they knew how to play it, but Shiro did, so he wandered over to them.

“You have to hold it like this,” he said, as he sat down beside them and gently took the guitar from Keith. The instrument was still in pretty good condition, but it would be too big for the kids to hold properly. “Then, you put your fingers across these strings to make a note, and strum the strings over the hole in the surface.” 

Keith’s eyes widened as the guitar made a noise. “Shiro, do that again!” He demanded, eyes bright.

Shiro laughed, but complied. He used to play guitar all the time, but it was harder with his prosthetic hand, and it wasn’t a favourite hobby of his, so he’d let it go. He was relieved to see that not all of his old skills had faded – there was just enough to impress his kids.

“I want to try!” Keith decided. Shiro handed him the guitar back, and spent a moment positioning Keith’s little fingers, before letting him play.

Oddly enough, Keith was good at the guitar. Really good. He could remember where to put his fingers for each of the notes Shiro showed him, and after a while, he got the hang of moving his fingers and strumming at the same time. While it wasn’t perfect, it was still pretty damn good. Shiro would have to remember to tell his parents about it later.

Lance was not good at the guitar at all. He didn’t seem particularly interested in it, which was odd, because Keith was certainly intrigued. Shiro half expected him to make a competition out of it, but he seemed just as impressed with Keith’s talent. While Shiro didn’t want to admit it, it seemed like Lance wasn’t all that musically inclined. He just wasn’t too interested in the instruments, over than for short-term entertainment purposes. 

However, when Coran put on some music and the kids were encouraged to play whatever instrument they wanted, Lance decided to sing. He probably didn’t put much thought into it, and sung the first song that came to mind, but he was _good_ at it. Shiro did a double-take when he heard Lance’s pretty voice, and could only watch, dumbfounded, as Keith played his guitar and Lance sung. 

He’d lifted his phone to record it all before he’d even realised what he was doing.

“I didn’t know you could play the guitar,” Allura said, after Shiro had put his phone down. “I saw you teaching Keith. Took a lot of photos, too.”

Shiro gave her a little smile. “I used to in high school, but I don’t really play much anymore. I’m not too good at it.”

“You seemed perfectly fine at it when I watched,” she said, as she gave him a cheeky look. “You should play for me sometime.”

He raised his brows, surprised by her request. He wasn’t sure if he could remember any songs worth playing for her.

“What? It’s attractive,” she grinned.

 _Oh._ He flushed, and looked away, which made her laugh. God, he loved this girl so much, even if she did surprise him sometimes. All in all, he thought they’d had a very successful day.

Until Coran started to play the didgeridoo. 

 

At the end of the day, it was Shiro and Allura’s job to pack away all of the instruments. They did so in a comfortable silence, until Allura lifted the triangle, and gave it a little ting.

“I can’t believe Coran didn’t know what this was,” she chuckled, as she set it away again.

Shiro laughed too. It was a story they’d tease Coran about for years to come, he thought. 

“I still want you to play the guitar for me, you know,” she said. “Every day I still learn new things about you. How many more surprisingly talents are you hiding from me?”

He wouldn’t exactly call it a talent, but her teasing made him feel good. He didn’t even think about it before he leaned over to give her a little kiss, not until he suddenly heard a surprised noise come from behind them.

“Shiro _kissed _Allura!” Lance gaped, as he grabbed onto the cuff of Keith’s jacket arm, tugging insistently. “Wow!”__

__Shiro turned horribly red, and groaned. He’d never been more embarrassed in all of his life._ _


	100. Sweet

Keith arrived at the kindergarten upset again. He had a pout on his face, and stubbornly refused to say goodbye to his mother, even when she reluctantly left him for the day. Only then did he completely deflate, and become quite tearful.

“Buddy, what’s wrong?” Shiro asked, as he lifted Keith up into his arms. “You didn’t want to say goodbye to your Mother?”

Keith frowned harder, and shook his head. He still didn’t say anything.

It worried Shiro. Keith didn’t usually bottle things up like this, not unless it really bothered him or he was ashamed of it. Come to think of it, Keith had been like this a little while ago. Shiro had hoped that the problem had worked itself out on its own, but it seemed like it hadn’t. Maybe he should be a little more forceful with his questions.

“Want to talk about it?” He asked. 

Again, Keith shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he mumbled.

Shiro resisted the urge to sigh. “I can’t fix the problem if you don’t give me a little direction,” he said gently. “You know you can trust me with anything that’s troubling you, right? I won’t laugh, I promise.”

Keith’s eyes watered, and he looked away. “I know that,” he mumbled. “I just don’t wanna talk.”

There was something in his wobbly voice that made Shiro relent. “Alright. But I want you to come to me if you’re ever in real trouble, alright? Seeing you upset makes me sad.”

“Okay,” Keith said quietly. He hesitated for a moment, before wrapping his arms around Shiro’s neck to give him a quick hug. For now, it was more than enough for Shiro, so he returned the embrace and gently set Keith down again. 

He was sure to keep a close eye on Keith after that. It seemed like Keith really wasn’t up for playing, and instead he only stuck by Lance silently, never straying too far or speaking too much. It was worrying behaviour, and didn’t seem to lessen the more the day went on. Shiro was tempted to speak to Allura and Coran about it, or perhaps Keith’s parents, until something stopped him.

Of course Lance would notice when Keith didn’t jump at the chance to bicker with him. In fact, Shiro was pretty sure Lance noticed straight away – the startled way he suddenly stopped speaking was obvious. He didn’t, however, say anything to Keith, and continued chatting away as if he’d never stopped. 

After lunch, when Shiro was busy cleaning away the plates, the Lance and Keith disappeared. Shiro was surprised to find them away from Hunk of Pidge, but the two were seated by themselves in the recreation room. Most of the other children were playing outside; that’s where Shiro had expected him to be.

As he was about to enter the room after them, he heard Lance talking.

“But why are you sad?” Lance asked.

“I just am,” Keith answered. He sounded irritated, but he didn’t get up to leave. Maybe if Shiro couldn’t get Keith to talk, Lance could, so he didn’t go in to bother them.

“But why?” Lance insisted.

A frustrated noise left Keith’s lips, but he still didn’t leave. “Are… are your parents the same?” Keith finally asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Are they both from the same place?” Keith asked.

“Well, yeah, I think so,” Lance said. “My Dad is from this place called Cuba. I think my Mamá was born there too.”

Keith’s frown deepened. He looked close to tears again.

“Is that why you’re upset?” Lance asked. “Where are your parents from?”

“My Mother is from Korea,” Keith mumbled. “But my Father is from somewhere else.”

“Oh.” Lance paused for a moment. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Of course it is!” Keith snapped. “They’re not the same!”

“But why is that a bad thing?” Lance asked. “Doesn’t that just make you more cool?”

“No,” Keith answered, upset. “If your Mother and your Father are both from Cuba, then you are too, right? But if my parents are different, then what am I?”

Shiro’s heart ached. So that was what it was. Shiro had never considered that having biracial parents might be upsetting to Keith, now that he was becoming old enough to recognise it for what it was. He felt guilty realising he should have noticed earlier – his own parents were biracial, and while it had never bothered him much when he was a kid, Keith was clearly different.

Maybe if Keith knew that biracial parents were much more common than he thought, then he wouldn’t feel so lost with himself.

“I think you’re just being stupid,” Lance said.

Shiro would have to correct that language later.

“It’s like, you have two things to call yourself,” Lance continued, despite Keith’s hurt look. “You could probably choose either one to be. Or both. Isn’t both better? Two is so much better than one, right?”

Keith’s eyes widened. “You really think that?” He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, totally!” Lance grinned, and threw his arm around Keith’s shoulders to pull him close. “I’m always right, aren’t I? Plus, you could totally tell Shiro about this. He’d tell you the same thing I did! He’s super smart.”

Shiro chuckled to himself. He certainly would say something along the same lines as Lance. There was absolutely nothing for Keith to be worried about, after all.

“Anyway, I know something that will make you feel better,” Lance said, as his grin widened. “Close your eyes!”

Obligingly, Keith did.

And then, in one swift, easy movement, Lance pressed a sweet kiss to Keith’s cheek. “There!” He said, noticeably more red as Keith’s eyes flew wide open. “Shiro always does that to make Allura smile, right? And now you are too!”

Keith flushed, but he certainly was smiling.

And for some unfathomable reason, Shiro was too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me for 100 chapters ❤ I really appreciate the support!


	101. Furniture

“What about this one?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little… big?”

“Is it?”

“Well, there’s only two of us at home.”

“Oh,” Shiro said, “that’s a good point.”

Allura laughed quietly, and ushered him on. She had a brochure she’d picked up from the front of the store in hand. “Don’t worry, we’re bound to find something eventually. This place is huge.”

It was. Shiro had never seen a furniture store this big – Coran hadn’t been lying when he had told them it was likely the largest one they’d ever go to. He’d recommended it to them because it was where all the furniture for the kindergarten had been originally from, and everything at Altea was very high quality. 

They’d decided to refurbish Allura’s living room, now that two people were living in the house. Allura said that she had the perfect excuse to change out the lounge room set now that he was living with her, and Shiro wasn’t going to argue. He’d never been too concerned with interior decoration, and he’d never been particularly good at choosing it either, so he was happy to go with whatever she wanted.

So far, they must have seen at least two dozen dining table sets, but none seemed to fit their living room. Allura’s home wasn’t small, but it still wasn’t the size of a typical house, and neither one of them were too keen on a crowded living space. 

“I just want it to be perfect,” Allura finally said, as she began to look discouraged. “What if we don’t find anything here?”

“Then we’ll just look elsewhere,” Shiro said. He was unsure why Allura was getting upset, and was starting to feel a little lost himself. “Don’t worry too much Allura, there’s no rush…”

She let out a long sigh, and glanced away. “I know, I just… It still feels so much like my home, and I want it to be ours, instead.”

He’d never thought about it like that. In fact, he didn’t feel that way at all. “I feel at home where we live,” he told her, as he took her hands in his. “Anything you pick is going to be perfect, I have no doubt of that.”

Allura have him a timid look. “You really think that?”

“Of course.” He smiled, relieved that the worried furrow in her brow had smoothed out, and unable to help himself, he pressed a small kiss to her lips. “Now stop worrying about me, and pick out a dining table, alright? We still have to look at lounges too… can we get one with an L-shape? So we can lay down?”

She laughed. “If that’s what you want.”

He laughed too.


	102. Skipping

One of the parents donated a few new toys to the kindergarten. Apparently it was something that happened every so often, especially from parents whose kids had previously been students at Altea. The kids always enjoyed getting new toys, even if the novelty of them wore off after a few days. As it was, the kids were currently enjoying all the new things they had to play with.

Shiro sort of wished his kids had gone for the toy phone or the building blocks. Instead they’d chosen the skipping ropes (the hard kind, made of glittery plastic that hurt a lot when one happened to get hit with it). And while he did appreciate their activeness and their willingness to play outside, he hadn’t exactly expected to get roped into it with them (no pun intended).

“Shiro, you have to do it faster!” Lance complained for what felt like the tenth time as Keith fumbled in the loop they were creating.

“Sorry, sorry,” Shiro said, trying to repress another long sigh. If he spun the rope any faster he was sure he’d send one of the kids flying. How could they want it to move faster than it already was? It was unhuman. They’d been going at it for twenty minutes now too, and how they had so much energy still baffled him.

As he started to swing the rope again, Keith, Pidge and Hunk took turns jumping in. Like usual, they’d somehow made the simple game into a competition – they had to jump in the rope and touch the ground before jumping out again without making the rope stop. 

So far, Pidge was doing the best. He was small enough and agile enough to get under the rope with ease, and never really stumbled, much to the chagrin of his friends. Hunk and Keith were fairing about the same – they could get into the rope just fine, but touching the ground and getting back out seemed to give them a bit of coordination trouble.

Eventually, Pidge was declared the winner, and he switched places with Lance. Spinning the glittery rope with Pidge was much easier than spinning it with Lance. Unlike his friend, Pidge didn’t become distracted by the game, and he moved his arm very steadily. It gave Lance a chance to show off his skills, too – he was surprisingly better than both Hunk and Keith, which only seemed to fire them up more.

Honestly, Shiro was glad they were enjoying themselves. He could still supervise the kids playing in the undercover area, like he was meant to, without disappointing his little group. Besides, it was good to see the kids enjoying themselves outside while the weather was still nice. Soon summer would be gone and autumn would bring with it cold winds and rain, so he, Allura and Coran tried to let the kids go outside as much as they could.

Still, Shiro couldn’t help but wonder, as Pidge accidentally let go of the handle, when he’d be freed from the skipping rope and its hard whacks.


	103. Lost

Lance had lost his blue lion toy. He’d come up to Shiro earlier in the day, eyes watery and red, to beg for help in finding it. Seeing him so upset made Shiro’s heart ache.

He was looking for the toy when Allura found him, laid out flat on the floor with his head under a table. “I’m looking for the blue lion,” he said with an embarrassed sigh, when she snickered at him. A little self-consciously he stood, and dusted off his pants. “Lance lost it this morning. He’s really upset.”

“Oh, so that’s why he’s carrying around the red one,” Allura said, as her eyes widened in understanding.

Shiro nodded. Keith had let Lance borrow his red lion until they found the blue one. It was a really sweet gesture, one he had been sure to praise Keith for. It seemed that Keith was just as worried about Lance’s tears as Shiro was. “Would you mind helping me look for it, Allura? I really don’t think I could stand to see Lance cry again.”

“Of course,” Allura said without hesitation. “Where does he last remember having it?”

Shiro would have never thought that his little gift to the kids would become so important. Lance was really upset with himself because he’d lost it, and even if he had Keith’s to play with, it wasn’t the same. Somehow, the lions had come to mean a lot to them. 

Maybe because it gave them all one thing they unanimously had in common. Despite their differences, they all had a lion. Maybe it made them feel like they were a part of something.

But Shiro couldn’t be certain. All he knew for sure was that Lance valued his lion a lot, and Shiro had to find it. He’d had it when he arrived at the kindergarten that morning, like Shiro’s group always did, so it must be around here somewhere. He’d find it eventually, that he was sure of.

For a moment, he glanced over his shoulder, over to where Lance and the other kids were sitting on the beanbags. Lance had his knees drawn up to his chest, and a miserable look on his face. He was still hugging the red lion to his chest.

More determined than ever, Shiro turned back to the main room. He’d find that lion.


	104. Think

It was almost Valentine’s Day. Shiro loathed to admit it, but he had sort of forgotten about the romantic holiday until he’d seen the brightly coloured variety of decorations and gifts set up in storefronts. He’d never really been particularly interested in celebrating it, after all, but suddenly the idea of spoiling Allura with Valentine’s celebrations was incredibly appealing.

The only problem was that he didn’t exactly know what to do for her. Going out to dinner seemed like the obvious answer, but he thought that might be too cliché, and it was likely that all their local restaurants were booked out by now. Besides, he wanted to do something really special for Allura. Something she’d really enjoy.

But what could he do?

Food seemed like a must. He knew what her favourites were, and could most certainly cook her a delicious dinner. It was normal to have things like candles and nice wine at those sort of dinners, right? He was sure he could manage with that. She’d like that sort of romantic atmosphere, wouldn’t she?

He thought she might, but even that sort of surprise still felt too cliché. He really wanted something special, something he could impress her with. Something that would really made her feel as important as she was to him. When no spectacular idea came to him, he decided to go to someone who knew Allura incredibly well for help.

Coran.

In hindsight, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea. Coran had some very outdated ideas of romance, and some very obscure ones too. Shiro didn’t really want to “woo” Allura in the odd ways Coran had suggested, but it seemed that Coran expected as much.

“Don’t worry, young Shiro,” he said, when he noticed Shiro’s concerned look. “She’ll love anything you do for her.”

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck, and tried not to sigh. He’d gotten a few more ideas now that he’d been thinking about it for a while, but he still wanted something… special. While he was sure Allura would appreciate any effort he put into it (well, he hoped so, anyway) he still wanted her to see just how much he loved her. What could possibly convey those feelings of his, though?

Well, he started with food. He had Coran make an excuse for him so that he could sneak out and buy a box of her favourite cupcakes from her favourite bakery, as well as a box of Valentine’s Day themed ones. He hid them in the bottom of the fridge at their home, underneath light vegetables and empty boxes of things Allura didn’t eat, so that she wouldn’t accidentally find them.

When he went out to grab a few extra ingredients for dinner that night, he bought a card, and a cute little teddy bear holding a heart, too. They were ridiculously cheesy, but he thought they still had impact. If nothing, they made him smile. He stashed them both in the back of his car where he knew Allura would never look.

Even with those little things sorted, he still couldn’t decide on what to buy her for Valentine’s Day – what to get her as a proper present. He considered jewellery, but she already had a bracelet from him. He thought about maybe printing off photographs of them, or making something, but he wasn’t very good at that sort of thing.

He was sure he’d think of something eventually; something that was good enough for her. She deserved the very best that he could give her, after all. 

There was one more person he could ask…


	105. Juniberries

“She’ll likely love anything you get her,” Alfor remarked.

“Coran said the same thing to me yesterday,” Shiro told him, as he rubbed the back of his neck, “but I really want to get her something special.”

Alfor hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I’m not exactly opposed to you spoiling my daughter,” he said with a small laugh. “Do you have any idea about what you want to give her?”

Shiro bit his lip. He’d been thinking about it for ages, turning over all his ideas in his mind a dozen times, but none seemed fitting for her. Coran hadn’t been much help, and he didn’t really have anyone else to ask, so turning to Alfor was the only thing he could think of to do. “Not really,” he finally admitted. “Not anything special enough, anyway.”

He couldn’t help but think that Allura deserved the entire world. He just wanted to make her happy.

“I might have an idea,” Alfor finally said, “if you can make the time to drive out to my office.”

It was only an hour away – Alfor was in the city for the time being; Allura had mentioned it to him a few days ago – so he thought he could manage. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, Allura’s mother and I didn’t raise Allura in this country,” Alfor said. “Has she told you about that?”

“No,” Shiro said, surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

“Ah, well I believe she’d hardly remember it herself,” Alfor continued. “While she was born here, we did raise her in her mother’s home country until she was six, before moving back. If nothing else, I know she remembers the flowers from our old garden. They were her mother’s favourite.”

“Flowers?”

“They’re called Mountain Juniberries,” Alfor said. “They only grow in Altea.”

“Altea?”

“Ah, yes. You know, it was Allura’s mother that owned the kindergarten. It was her idea, from start to finish. She named it after her home, though I suppose you wouldn’t have heard of Altea before coming to work there. It’s a rather small place.”

He hadn’t heard of it. Come to think of it, he’d never really asked about the history of the kindergarten. If Allura didn’t mind talking about it, then perhaps he could ask her. He was certainly very curious. 

“Mountain Juniberries don’t sound like something typically found in flower shops,” Shiro said, a little dismayed. If Altea was as small and obscure a place as it seemed, then its exclusive flora must have been the same. If he could find those flowers, or even their seeds, then they’d be the _perfect_ gift for Allura.

“Yes, that’s true,” Alfor said. “They’re not sold in this country, and shipping in bouquets of them is notoriously difficult, and likely expensive.”

Shiro winced, and was suddenly glad this was a phone call and not a face-to-face conversation.

“But,” Alfor said, “I do have some seeds from when Allura’s mother was alive. If you would like, you may give them to her.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. If they were an heirloom from her mother, wouldn’t Alfor want to give them to Allura himself? He asked as much.

“Yes, I had been planning on giving them to her myself, but the right time never emerged,” Alfor said. “I believe she’d find them more heartfelt coming from you.”

Hearing that from Alfor set Shiro’s nervous heart at ease. He knew how important Alfor was to Allura, and how close they were. If Alfor was confident in him, in his willingness to make Allura happy, then he felt like he didn’t have much to worry about. And if the Mountain Juniberries would make Allura happy, then he was more than ready to make the drive for them.

“What time do you want me to come by?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had intended to finish the little Valentine's Day chapters with this one, but there will likely be one more. I've been working on something else today, and I managed to hit my head pretty hard yesterday, so I've had a headache for a while. Either way, I actually quite enjoy Valentine's Day themed works, so I don't mind stretching it out for a bit! I hope that's not too bothersome ^^"


	106. Valentine

The Mountain Juniberries had seeds that were unexpectedly small. They were shaped like sunflower seeds, but were a rich maroon colour, and were oddly smooth. They had been kept in a little decorative tin, one Shiro was more than happy to keep them in.

On Valentine’s Day, Shiro woke Allura with the card and the teddy he’d had stashed in his car. He quietly made them breakfast beforehand, so that when they eventually emerged from the bedroom, she was surprised with it. “Shiro, this is lovely,” she said, her face flushed. She was holding the bear to her chest, but had left the card propped open on her bedside table, so that she would be able to see it from bed.

Shiro smiled, pleased that Allura seemed happy. 

“You really didn’t have to do all of this for me,” she said. “I feel so spoiled.”

“I wanted to,” Shiro said. Allura’s look of flushed excitement was more than worth all his nervousness. If only she knew what else he had for her.

As Valentine’s Day fell on a weekday, they both had to attend work. It wasn’t much of a problem, since the kids were always cheerful. As a gift from the adults, they were each given chocolate. Naturally, they were very excited over their little treats, and most of the children ate their chocolate straight away. 

At the end of the day, Shiro snuck off early. Coran would drive Allura home because Shiro took their car, but it gave him a chance to get everything he needed. He’d asked ahead at the florist for a pretty bouquet full of orchids and other white flowers. He picked it up on the way, and set it in a pretty vase on the table while he started to cook dinner. 

He made Allura’s favourite food, and set the table. Along with the flowers, he lit candles that he took from Allura’s not-so-secret stash. Everything had to be perfect, and only when he was finally finished did he feel completely satisfied. He was sure Allura would love this.

When she arrived home, it was with a puzzled question. “Shiro?”

“I’m in the kitchen,” he said. He tried not to sound nervous as he hovered by the table, waiting for her to come to him. 

“You left early,” she said. “I didn’t notice you’d gone until Coran told me. Are you feeling alright?”

“Mmm.”

When Allura entered the kitchen, her eyes widened. “Shiro?”

Shiro smiled, his heart racing. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

A truly beautiful smile came across Allura’s face. She set her bag down by the doorway and came over to press herself into his arms. He placed a kiss on her forehead, and held her tightly, trying to hold back his smiles. She seemed happy, and that was all he wanted. 

She liked the dinner. They ate at a rather leisurely pace, and chatted about anything that crossed their minds. Shiro was content to watch Allura enjoy herself, though he was rather glad to receive praise for his efforts. “I can’t believe you did all of this without me knowing,” she told him. 

“I had some help,” he said.

Allura laughed. “Oh, that’s right. I did get you something too.”

He gave her a curious look, but accepted the box she withdrew from her bag. When he opened it, he found a handsome watch sitting inside. Its design was simple and unobtrusive, but there was a sort of elegance to it that he definitely liked. “It’s lovely,” he said. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad you like it,” she grinned. “It’s the least I can give you after how much you’ve spoiled me today.”

“Actually, I do have something else for you,” Shiro said. “Your father helped me find them.”

Now it was Allura’s turn to give him a puzzled look.

He’d left the little tin of seeds hidden on the benchtop, so he went to get them to give to her. “Here,” he said, as he passed the seeds into her hands. He leaned against the dining table to watch her open them.

She didn’t recognise the tin, but something about it seemed to stir something in her. She hesitated for a moment before opening it, and when she did, her expression suddenly changed. Her lips parted, just a little, and her eyebrows drew up. With a shaking hand, she ran her fingertips through the seeds, listening to them clatter in the tin. Her eyes grew teary. 

“These are Mountain Juniberries,” she said, as she looked up at him.

“They are,” he agreed. He reached out a hand to touch her cheek, and rubbed his thumb under her eye. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

She laughed a little, and pressed a hand against her face. After a moment, she sucked in a deep breath, and wiped away her tears. “I haven’t seen any of these in years. Thank you for them, Shiro. These mean so much to me.”

“I know,” he said. When she pressed into his arms for a second time that night, he held her tighter, and kissed her warmly. “You mean so much to me,” he whispered into her hair. “I just want to make you happy.”

She smiled, and turned her face into his chest. “You always do.”


	107. Plant

Allura was quite distracted at work the next day. She spent the better part of the morning working with the kids and the little seeds they’d planted all those months ago, during Allura’s special lesson. It gave Coran and Shiro time to catch up on cleaning and paperwork, though Allura couldn’t supervise the entire class by herself for too long.

Aside from helping the kids document the growth of their seeds, she was distracted with her own. She’d decided to grow the Mountain Juniberries at work so that she was able to watch over them closely. She’d bought a decorative pot and new soil on the weekend, so that come Monday, she was able to plant them.

“What are those, Miss Allura?” Pidge asked, as he peered curiously over Allura’s arm.

Allura was sitting on her knees, the pot resting delicately in her lap. She was wearing cotton gardening gloves, and was busy patting the soil flat in the pot. Her tin of seeds was sitting open beside her. “They’re called Mountain Juniberries,” Allura said with a small smile. “They were a gift from Shiro.”

“I’ve never heard of them,” Pidge said, his interest piqued. 

“They look kind of funny,” Lance said, as he peered closer. “What do they grow into?”

A small laugh escaped Allura. “It’s a secret,” she said, despite Lance’s immediate pout. “Isn’t it more fun to wait and see? It’ll be a surprise.”

Lance was too impatient to wait for that. He instead returned to Keith’s side so that they could play with their lions together (Shiro had found Lance’s lion eventually, and now Keith kept an extra sharp eye on it, so that it didn’t get lost again). Shiro watched them for a moment, just to make sure they were fine, before turning his eyes back to Allura. She still had Pidge and Hunk’s attention.

“Will they grow fast?” Hunk asked, as he glanced at the seeds. 

“Not too fast,” Allura said. “They like to take their time, but the end result is worth the wait. I’m sure you’ll like them when they’re in bloom.”

“Oh, so they’re flowers?” Hunk eyes widened. “Flowers bloom, right? Are they pretty?”

“Very pretty.” After digging small holes with her fingertip, Allura pulled off her gloves and set them aside. “Would you like to help me plant some?”

The kids did, of course, and amused, Shiro watched them pick out three seeds as a team and carefully put them into the holes Allura had made. Once that was done, they covered the seeds with soil, and watered them. Allura seemed quite pleased with the results. 

“These are going to grow into the biggest and most beautiful flowers,” she declared. “I’m absolutely sure of it.”

The children laughed at her bold declaration. Shiro laughed quietly, too. Allura looked so happy that he felt his heart swell. He still couldn’t fathom how he had such a wonderful person to love with all his heart. He was ridiculously glad that his gift had been well-received, and couldn’t wait to see what her beloved flowers looked like. If he were being honest, he was just as impatient as Lance to see them. 

But he would be patient. If anything, Allura’s happy smiles told him that the wait would most certainly be worth it.


	108. Mothering

It was starting to become colder outside, now that summer was drawing to a close. While the days were still hot, at times a cold wind would being to blow through the Kindergarten, and it definitely signified the start of autumn. Of course, that meant that winter clothes were beginning to replace the shorts and sandals most people wore, including the children. It was their parents that insisted on the warm clothes, for the most part, but that was a habit Shiro found himself quickly picking up.

“Here, Lance,” Shiro said, as he tucked Lance’s beanie down over his ears. “It’s cold outside today, so be careful.”

“Okay, okay,” Lance said, as he impatiently waved Shiro’s hands away. “I want to go play with Keith now!”

“Hurry up, Lance!” Keith, already wearing a matching beanie of his own, called from across the yard. Lance darted away at Keith’s beckoning. 

Shiro sighed, and put his hands on his hips. The kids could be so impatient sometimes. What would they do if they caught a cold? Surely their parents wouldn’t be very impressed.

“Shiro, you’re mothering them too much,” Allura said, amused, as she came to stand beside him. “Perhaps more than their actual mothers do.”

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and sighed. He knew Allura was right, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. He couldn’t help but think back to how dismal the kids had been when Hunk had last gotten sick, and how lonely they’d been without a member of their group, and he certainly didn’t want that to happen again. Warm clothes would help prevent unnecessary colds.

Out of the corner of his eye, he gave Allura a short onceover. She had worn a jacket today, but her hair was tied up, leaving her ears and neck exposed to the chilling breeze. “If you’re not careful, I’ll start mothering you, too,” he said, as he pressed the cold fingertips of his prosthetic hand against her exposed skin. 

A shiver travelled down her spine, and she darted out of his reach with a flushed look. “I left my scarf inside,” she said petulantly. “I swear I wore it today.”

Shiro chuckled. Allura’s weak excuses were heart-warming, to say the least. He had seen her loop a scarf around her neck that morning, so he knew she’d worn it, but he was just teasing. The bright look in her eyes told him that she knew that, too. 

“I know the kids will probably be fine,” Shiro admitted, “but I still worry. They’ll have to start wearing warmer clothes anyway, now that summer is almost over.”

“It’s still quite warm outside most days,” Allura pointed out. “The odd stray cold day does happen, but it’s not too much to be concerned over yet. Though I’m sure the kids secretly appreciate your mothering.”

He laughed quietly. Even if they didn’t, he would be sure to keep them as healthy as possible when playing outdoors. Working at the kindergarten made him feel incredibly responsible for them, and although he had expected that urge to eventually fade or lessen, it hadn’t. 

Working with children was very different from working with planes. 

Allura leaned up to give him a small kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Shiro,” she said, as if she could tell what he was thinking, “everyone knows how carefully you treat your job, especially the children’s parents. I doubt a cold here or there is going to change that.”

He smiled, and leaned into her embrace. He supposed she was right, though that was nothing out of the ordinary. Honestly, what would he ever do without her gentle guidance?


	109. Lake

The next week, they took the kids out on a walk to the local lake. It was less than twenty minutes away by foot, and as most of the children lived in the surrounding suburbs, they were very familiar with it. There was a small, gated playground and an area where they could feed the ducks living at the lake, too. 

Shiro thought it was a lovely idea to take the kids out. They’d been meaning to for a while, especially while Shay was with them. The only problem was that it happened to be quite cold outside the day they scheduled to go. The kids were bundled up in jackets and beanies, and Shiro hoped it was enough. They should warm up once they were clambering over the play equipment.

The walk to the lake was relatively peaceful. The kids were required to walk in two straight lines, each with a buddy. Allura walked at the beginning of the lines, Shiro in the middle, and Coran at the end. Unsurprisingly, Lance and Keith had buddied up, and they bickered pleasantly as they swung their hands between them. While Pidge would typically walk with Hunk, he knew Hunk didn’t want to leave Shay on her own, so it was Shiro’s hand Pidge held.

Shiro didn’t particularly mind. He liked walking with Pidge, and listening to Pidge explain all his latest inventions. If he happened to intentionally make sure he walked on the side closest to the road, then no one pointed it out. 

The park wasn’t too busy; there were joggers and a few bike riders, as well as parents pushing prams. For the most part, they had the playground and surrounding picnic area by the lake to themselves. Coran set up picnic blankets and baskets full of food and juice they’d brought from the kindergarten while Shiro and Allura gave the kids a rundown of the rules. 

Allura would watch over the kids at the picnic area while Shiro and Coran watched over those who decided to play on the play equipment, where most of the kids decided to go. Shay, Hunk and Pidge were on the equipment, taking turns to push each other on the swings. Keith and Lance were kicking around a soccer ball by the water.

The day progressed fairly well, despite the cold breezes. The kids enjoyed playing out in the open, and enjoyed the food Coran made, though that was something always favourable to them. It was a nice day.

Until Shiro heard a sudden scream. 

He whipped around at the sound of Lance’s voice, and saw a biker skid out on the wet pavement. Lance was beside the water, holding the soccer ball – it must have fallen in, and when he’d stood from crouching by the lake, the biker hadn’t seen him. 

Lance fell back into the water with a horrifying splash.

“Lance!” Shiro shouted at the same time Allura did, his heart gripped with panic. He’d run to the edge of the lake before he’d realised what he was doing, and grabbed Allura by the shoulder as she lurched forwards. “Allura, don’t go into the water!”

If the air was cold, then so was the water. It wasn’t deep, not deep enough for Lance to be unable to stand, but even an inch of water could drown someone. He’d stepped over the brick ledge of the footpath and into the lake without thinking, and scooped up Lance’s spluttering form high out of the water. Lance was absolutely drenched, his clothes heavy and dripping. Shiro could feel that he was shivering.

The biker was apologising profusely to Allura, but Shiro could hardly hear him. He set Lance down on the ground, and ripped off Lance’s jacket. “Are you alright?” He demanded, as he anxiously wrung water out of Lance’s shirt and the hem of his shorts. “Did you get scraped anywhere, Lance?”

Teeth chattering, Lance shook his head.

Shiro pulled off his own jacket and draped it around Lance’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s go get you dried off,” he said, as he ushered Lance away from the water’s edge. There would be a spare picnic blanket around somewhere, and Shiro had his scarf in his bag, which he could put around Lance’s neck-

But Keith beat him to it. Shiro hadn’t even noticed Keith rushing over, a panicked look on his face. He’d worn a red scarf that day, and forced it over Lance’s head without a word. He didn’t leave Lance’s side as Shiro had him sit down on the grass with a blanket over his shoulders, despite Lance’s protests. 

There was no way Lance wasn’t going to get sick from this.


	110. Comfort

Lance was most certainly getting sick. His parents had been upset when they’d been informed about what happened at the park, though they were reasonable people, and they knew it was an accident. They were more concerned about Lance’s health, because despite Lance’s attitude returning to normal, there was a very noticeable paleness to his skin.

Still, because he had been acting normally and he showed no signs of developing a fever or a cough, he’d come back to the kindergarten the next day. His parents were worried, but they didn’t want to impede on Lance’s education or socialisation, which was something Shiro could understand. It would be hard for one of them to slip away from work too, if Lance wasn’t sick enough to require a doctor’s certificate. 

He promised to watch over Lance closely, which is what he most certainly did.

For most of the morning, Lance seemed alright. He was quieter than usual, but Shiro expected no less. He didn’t run around as much as he usually did, either. It was only when Lance played with his lunch instead of eating it that Shiro started to get a little suspicious. Lance and Keith usually raced to see who would finish first.

“Lance, are you not hungry, buddy?” Shiro asked, as he crouched down beside Lance at the dining table. 

Lance jumped, and gave Shiro a guilty, pale look. He was definitely starting to look sick. 

“It’s fine,” Keith butted in, as he dragged Lance’s plate closer to him. “I’ll eat it instead.”

Shiro raised his brows, surprised. Were the kids worried about food? It was true that the children were encouraged to eat all of their food, and that leaving too much on the plate was something they shouldn’t do, but Shiro hadn’t thought that would have worried Lance. 

Because of Keith’s insistence, he backed off. He wondered if Keith was trying to keep Lance from going home. It wasn’t such a farfetched thought, not with those two.

But Lance didn’t get better. Not even with Keith’s insistence that he stay seated in the beanbags, or with all the glasses of water Keith brought to him, or even when he was rugged up extra warm in Keith’s jacket. 

When Keith was distracted, Lance slipped away, and came to find Shiro. He was so silent that Shiro didn’t notice him until Lance was tugging at the end of Shiro’s shirt, his own hands swamped in the cuffed sleeves of Keith’s red jacket. “Mr Shiro?” Lance murmured, staring up at Shiro with big, tired eyes. “I don’t feel well.”

Shiro sighed, and bent down to gently lift Lance up into his arms. “I know, buddy. Where does it hurt?”

“My tummy,” Lance mumbled, as he put his arms around Shiro’s neck. His forehead was hot when he pressed it against Shiro’s skin. “And my head.”

Shiro hummed, and comfortingly ran his hand down Lance’s back. He could feel Lance shivering, tiny tremors that ran through him every few moments. “Want me to call your Ma?”

Lance nodded. 

“Alright.” Shiro carried Lance into the office, and half shut the door behind him to keep out the noise. Lance hardly stirred as Shiro called his mother to inform her that Lance was sick. She would be at the kindergarten to pick him up in less than an hour, but that meant Lance still had to wait.

For the meantime, Shiro just gently rocked Lance from side to side and tried not to jostle him too much. He knew Lance would be alright, but for the moment he was uncomfortable and hot. He hoped that his comfort fixed that, even if it was only a little bit.

“Don’t worry Lance,” he said, as he rubbed Lance’s back again, “you’ll be just fine.”


	111. Forget

Predictably, Keith was _miserable._ Lance had stayed home sick with a fever, and while Keith was certainly old enough to understand why Lance was unable to come, that didn’t mean he had to like it. And like it he did _not._

Somehow, Shiro was reminded of the time when he had first arrived at Altea Kindergarten. Back then, Lance and Keith had not been friends, at least not like how they were now. Their arguing had been earnest, and laced with words that had been very hurtful to each other. Shiro had a feeling it had been started by Lance. It was Lance’s notion that their relationship had been a “rivalry”, after all.

He’s pretty sure it started because Lance was jealous of Keith. He didn’t know them before he began working at the kindergarten, but with as much as he knew Lance, he’s sure that’s what it would have been. Keith’s stoic demeanour usually drew people to him, despite his general reluctance to socialise, and he was smart. Perhaps those were things that a person who thrived on social approval like Lance would become envious of.

But Keith hadn’t reciprocated those envious feelings of Lance’s. Perhaps Keith hadn’t even been aware of Lance until lance made a ruckus – that was something Shiro could clearly see happening. At times, that old habit of Keith’s seem to seep back through his normal attitude. Shiro could see it in the way Keith might suddenly go quiet, without anyone noticing, or the way his eyes often glazed over when a conversation went on for too long. And sure, those moments were becoming few and far between, but they were still there.

“He’ll be alright, Keith,” Shiro said, as he reassuringly rested his hand on the back of Keith’s head. “Don’t worry too much.”

The frown that Keith had been wearing all day only deepened. He didn’t say anything, though Shiro didn’t expect him to. He’d hardly spoken a word all day, and stubbornly refused to leave Shiro’s side. He’d even taken to holding onto Shiro’s leg so that Shiro couldn’t get far.

For now, Shiro indulged him. He’d always thought that the bond Lance and Keith had was deeper on Lance’s behalf, especially with how much Lance was starting to question gender preferences. Maybe he was wrong. 

Shiro sighed. Thinking about it exhausted him. These two kids were certainly unlike any of the others he’d ever met, and they didn’t even seem to know it. No one did.

“How about we make Lance a get well soon card?” Shiro suggested.

Keith turned his head up to give Shiro a sceptical look, like he expected Shiro to take the chance to escape. When Shiro met his gaze and didn’t look away, Keith slowly nodded. “Okay.”

The craft tables were already set up, but Shiro took Keith to an empty one, knowing that not even the company of his other friends was something he wanted. Keith was slow as he pulled a piece of red cardstock towards himself. He hesitated, before reaching for a blue one, too. “Which colour?” He mumbled, as he glanced up at Shiro. “Lance likes blue, but…”

That was another thing Shiro didn’t think he’d ever understand. Their fascination with the colours and the way they used them to gift each other things was a mystery to him. “How about we cut the blue one a little smaller and glue it on the red one? That way the card will be red on the outside and blue on the inside.”

Keith’s eyes widened at the solution, and he nodded. He gave Shiro the card to cut, and a pair of paper scissors. Shiro was pretty relieved that Keith was letting him do something to help, even if it was just cutting straight lines.

For the most part, Keith did the card himself. He spent ages drawing a blue lion on the front with crayons, and wrote Lance’s name in blue above it. He left writing the message on the inside to Shiro, whose handwriting was neater, though he dictated exactly what he wanted it to say.

“He’ll come back tomorrow, right?” Keith asked quietly. He didn’t glance up from his card. He’d been working on the same part for the last half an hour, though Shiro didn’t say anything.

“He might,” Shiro said, “or he might not. It won’t take him too long to get better, you know Lance. He’s got too much energy to stay sick.”

That managed to crack a small smile from Keith. “I still want him to come back tomorrow, though.”

“Me too,” Shiro said. The kindergarten was too quiet without Lance around. “You know, you two weren’t always friends.”

“That was Lance’s fault,” Keith said, sounding oddly vehement. “He wanted to be rivals.”

“I know,” Shiro said gently. “But it’s different now, isn’t it? You and Lance are very close.”

Keith nodded, his eyes lowered again. He set his crayon down. “I don’t want Lance to forget me,” he said.

Shiro’s eyes widened. “Why would you think he would?”

Keith pursed his lips.

A strange, uneasy feeling swelled in Shiro’s stomach. “Keith,” Shiro started in a firmer voice, “why would you think Lance would forget you?”

“Because I’m not funny enough,” Keith said after a hesitant moment, “and I’m not cool enough. Everyone always talks to Lance and wants to play with Lance. But Lance is _my_ friend, and I… I couldn’t protect him.”

“Is this about the lake, Keith?” Shiro asked, as he straightened. “Because Lance fell in?”

Keith shrunk into his shoulders. 

Shiro let out a shaky sigh, and turned to face Keith. “Come here for a moment.”

Keith came over to him, and didn’t complain when Shiro lifted him up onto his knee. 

“What happened at the lake wasn’t your fault,” Shiro said, his voice serious. “It’s not your job to watch out for Lance, or for anyone here. It’s mine. And sometimes accidents happen, like what happened at the lake. But no one got hurt, Keith. Lance has a cold, but he’ll get better, and he’ll be back here in no time, so I don’t want you worrying over it, okay?”

Keith hesitated.

“Okay?” Shiro said again. Only when Keith gave him a tentative nod did Shiro finally relax a little. He drew Keith closer, and rubbed his back again. He never knew that Keith thought of things like that. “Besides,” he said quietly, “you’re a wonderful friend, and Lance cares about you very much. There’s no way he’d ever forget you.”


	112. Brochure

Lance came back the next day, significantly better. Of course he did, and yet Shiro still find himself feeling relieved. Maybe he was too attached to the kids.

Either way, Lance was back, and Keith was happy again, and everything seemed to settle back into normality. Keith gave Lance the card he’d made, which Lance was more than excited to receive. In turn it made Keith quite happy, and all in all, it was a good morning. Shiro was relieved. 

That day, while Coran was busy supervising the kids at lunch, Allura called Shiro into the office. “We’re organising another excursion,” she said, as she showed Shiro a handful of brochures on her desk. “Have any ideas where we can go?”

There were a variety of places that offered educational excursions to classes like theirs – aquariums, wildlife parks, orchids, nature preserves. There were even groups that taught things like dance or athletics for a day where they could go. He could see why Allura was having trouble choosing a place.

“The aquarium seems nice,” Shiro said, as he flipped through the brochure. “Has Altea been there before?”

Allura shook her head. “No, most of these places are new to us,” she said. “They want to attract more school-aged facilities with the new educational programs they’ve developed. I think it’d be a good opportunity for the kids to learn something a little less standard, don’t you?”

He nodded in agreement. “What does Coran think?”

“Oh, he’s not fussed,” Allura said, as she waved a hand. “You know him, he’d go anywhere and have a fun time of it. I just hope he doesn’t dress like a pirate if we go to the aquarium, or something like that.”

Shiro laughed a little. “Sounds like that’s something he’s already done.”

The flat look Allura gave him only made him laugh again. 

“Alright, where do _you_ want to go?” He asked, as he set the brochure down. “I think I’d be fine going anywhere, as long as the kids enjoyed it.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I think I’m much the same in that respect, but…” She reached for the brochure he’d put down, and flipped through it. “I’ve never been to an aquarium before.”

Shiro smiled to himself. “How about we go there, then? They have guided tours and an interactive tank for the kids to see.”

Allura laughed, and closed the brochure. “That sounds good to me. Shall I make a consultation appointment?”

“Consultation appointment?”

“Because we haven’t been there before, they’ll let staff members from our facility take a tour before we bring the children. It’s to see if the program they’re offering is a good fit to our students.”

“Oh, I see,” Shiro said with a nod. “That makes a lot of sense. I didn’t know you did that.”

“Well, we haven’t organised a new excursion in a while,” Allura said, smiling. “Not since before you started working here, anyway.” She reached for the office phone, and glanced at the calendar on her desk. “When should we organise it for?”

“It’s your choice.”

A spark flittered through her eyes. “Well, I’ll see if we can go at the same time my father returns. That way he can cover for us for a day.”

“Us?”

Allura grinned, and leaned forwards to give him a small, teasing kiss. “It’ll be a perfect date.”


	113. Mine

Shiro woke Allura up early the day they were meant to go check out the aquarium and what it had to offer. They had to leave earlier than they usually would have for work, and Allura really wasn’t a morning person. He’d learned that she could be persuaded to leave the bed, however, provided that he bribed her with a morning kiss followed succinctly by a hot cup of tea. That usually did the trick.

They’d decided to drive to the aquarium, despite it being a bit of a long way to go. It would give them the chance to see how long it would take to get the kids there. Shiro would drive them there in the morning, and Allura would drive them home. It was the same thing they did when they were driving to work, for the most part.

He hadn’t been to the aquarium since he was a child. It was by the harbour in the city, and half of it acted as a preserve and research facility. Shiro had always been iffy about aquariums, knowing how some animals were treated badly, especially the larger mammals. This aquarium, however, received very little negative feedback, and did not keep large mammals in tanks. Rather, they offered viewing shows when pods of dolphins or whales swam through the bay, without ever disturbing the animals. The only larger sea creatures they had on display where the ones waiting to be released – it was mostly sharks held in large tanks in preparation for relocation, or something similar. 

The tour guide that came to greet them seemed like a nice woman. She was probably around Allura’s age, if maybe a little younger. There was something about the way she looked at him that made him a little uncomfortable, though he didn’t say anything. Maybe he was just nervous in such a crowded place. He’d worn a black, long-sleeved shirt to hide his arm, but if someone looked too closely, they’d probably be able to see the joints.

“Here,” she said, as she handed Shiro a pamphlet. “This has all the information on our displays and educational programs! Isn’t it just great?”

Shiro forced a small smile and took the pamphlet. He thought that Allura should have been given one too, especially considering she was Altea’s owner, so he handed it to her before opening it himself. She took it from him with a raised-brow look he didn’t quite understand.

The tour was… odd, to say the least. The aquarium itself was fine, and the displays were marvellous. Shiro had no doubt that the kids would enjoy themselves if they were brought here. No, it was the tour guide who was a little strange. 

It seemed like she was only interested in talking with Shiro, even though it was Allura asking all the important questions. If Shiro were being honest, he was only interested in listening to Allura and watching her marvel over the aquarium displays, so the questions directed at him were a bit distracting. Most of the time they were unnecessary, or questions that the coordinator (Allura) should answer. 

“So how many are in your class?” The guide asked, as she looked up at Shiro expectedly.

“About thirty,” he said, somewhat hesitant. “There are three carers though, including Allura and I.”

“Must be hard looking after so many kids,” she said, as she placed a hand on Shiro’s arm – his prosthetic one. “The kids must just love you though.”

Uncomfortable, he drew his arm away, and tried not to make too much of an awkward face as he hid it behind his back. “It’s not too hard,” he said. “They’re really good kids.”

She gave him that smile again, the one she’d been giving him all day; a smile like she wasn’t smiling for anyone else. “How about I take you around the place again?” She asked. She’d somehow made her way between him and Allura, and when he glanced over her shoulder, he found Allura broodingly staring off at the fish tanks.

“Thank you for the offer, but we’re alright,” he said, as he slipped away from the guide’s grip. “I’m sure we can manage on our own-”

Allura’s hand was loose when he reached for her, but her fingers still gripped his tightly. He was enamoured by the weak smile she gave him, and felt himself flush a little. Even when she was nervous like she was, she was still the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. 

“Shall we go see the fish, Allura?” He asked. 

She nodded. “They’re really beautiful, aren’t they?” She said with a sigh. 

“They are,” he whispered.

A flustered smile broke over her face. “You’re looking at me, you know, not the fish.”

“I know.”

Shiro wasn’t oblivious. He’d dated before, and had been popular amongst his classmates before. He knew when someone was flirting with him, and could see when someone was trying to get his attention. 

But he was unfamiliar with this specific kind of situation. He’d never had someone like Allura before, someone he cared about so much. How could he make his feelings for her very clear without seeming rude or possessive? He didn’t want Allura to seem weak or clingy, because she was certainly not either of those things. She was strong and kind and beautiful, and so far out of his league that he still questioned how he could possibly be lucky enough to have her affections. 

How did he make sure she never doubted his feelings? It certainly was an uncomfortable situation. 

If he were being honest, he thought it was easiest if he let Allura control the pace of the day. They’d already been given a tour by the guide, but that didn’t mean they’d seen everything. Shiro had been looking forward to seeing the aquarium at their own pace, so he was glad to finally be doing that. 

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, when they were in a room surrounded by tanks on all sides. It was dark, and although there were a few other people milling about in front of the enclosures, it felt like they were on their own. “For before, I mean. I-”

“There’s no need to apologise, Shiro,” Allura said. She turned to face him, and pressed her forehead against his chest. “You did nothing wrong.”

He put his arms around her waist, and let himself luxuriate in the warmth she emitted. “I don’t want you to doubt how I feel about you,” he said gently. “You’re the most important person to me.”

Allura’s cheeks turned red. Her eyes were all warm and melty when she glanced up at him. “You’re just too handsome for people to resist,” she mumbled. “But it’s alright, because I know you’re mine.”

Shiro hid an embarrassed smile in her hair.

“Now come on,” she said, as she reached for his hand again. “Let’s go see the fish.”

He could do nothing but follow her.


	114. Voice

They organised the excursion for a fortnight after their evaluation trip, which gave the children’s parents enough time to prepare for it. Coran was rather excited to hear they would be going to the aquarium, and was quick to take over the preparations in Shiro’s place. Shiro didn’t mind.

Shiro was home alone for a while that evening. Allura was out catching up with her father, who had returned the day previous so that they could both go to the aquarium. He had become used to Allura’s presence around him, and without her, he found himself at a loss.

After feeding both the cats and making dinner in advance, which he left warming in the oven, he threw himself down on the couch and let out a long sigh. He’d never particularly been the type of person to binge watch television shows, and since he’d been working for so long, he hadn’t really had any time for his hobbies. If he were being honest, he couldn’t even remember what he used to do for fun, other than piloting and working on his aircraft. 

Perhaps he could take up the guitar again. He’d never been all that good at it, but maybe he could learn. It might be hard with his prosthetic hand, but it was certainly doable, wasn’t it? There was nothing wrong with trying. He could always take up running again, too. He used to do that a lot, especially when he was trying to keep in shape. Maybe Allura could join him for morning walks.

Though, come to think of it, trying to imagine Allura waking up early in the morning to exercise just made him laugh.

He was just considering doing a load of laundry when his phone began to ring. He was surprised to see the caller I.D, but didn’t hesitate in answering. “Hi, Mother,” he said.

“Shiro! It’s so nice to hear your voice again, dear,” she said. “We haven’t spoken in a while.”

He hummed in agreement, and settled back against the couch. “How have you been?”

It was nice to hear his mother’s voice. It was true that they hadn’t spoken in a while – they were both busy with work, but text messages had sufficed for a while. Still, he missed her, and would have to make time to take the trip up to see his parents. They still hadn’t met Allura.

“And how is your lovely girlfriend?” She asked, after she’d given Shiro a rundown of all the latest gossip and all the things she’d been doing recently. “You’re still living together, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Mother,” he laughed quietly, smiling to himself. “Allura is doing well. She’s out with her Father at the moment.”

“Oh you poor thing, you’re home alone? Why, I remember when I was your age and I had just started living with your father. The house felt so empty whenever he left! Are you doing alright?”

“I’m alright,” he said. “You don’t need to worry about me so much anymore, you know. I’m all grown up now.”

“Honey, I’m never going to stop worrying about you. You’re my baby!"

Shiro groaned, but it wasn’t a particularly bad sentiment. He was just embarrassed, that was all. He couldn’t help it, what with the way his mother still babied him. Absentmindedly, he fiddled with the charm hanging from his keys – it was a little blue dolphin. He was rather comforted by the knowledge that Allura had a matching pink one hanging from her own keys. They’d bought them at the aquarium, thanks to Allura’s insistence, though Shiro hadn’t complained much.

“I miss you guys a lot,” he said, his voice soft. 

“We miss you too, Shiro,” she said. “You know, your father shows off that picture of Allura you sent us to everyone we talk to. The neighbour, his friends, the checkout girl at the grocers… He’s always going on about the real beauty _his_ son is dating. Goodness me, I think he’s more enamoured with Allura than you are! He misses you too.”

Shiro laughed. “God, that’s embarrassing. Can’t you get him to stop?”

“Oh no, I’m encouraging it.”

He could practically hear the mischievous grin in her voice. “Not you too,” he complained half-heartedly. He was still smiling.

Talking with his mother always left him happy. She was a comfort unlike any other, and had always been there for him. He couldn’t wait until she met Allura.


	115. Fish

Wrangling a class full of children onto a bus was not an easy thing to do. First, every child had to be accounted for, and Shiro had to make sure they each had their bags and their water bottles. It was also his job to give all the kids their name badges, complete with his, Coran’s and Allura’s phone printed across the bottom. He thought that pinning thirty tags to thirty restless children was far easier than trying to seat them on a bus.

Of course, once Lance and Keith had been seated together, everything else became significantly easier. 

The drive to the aquarium wasn’t too eventful. Coran turned the radio on and the kids sung along to the songs they knew while Shiro watched Allura secretly record it on her phone. 

The kids were excited to see the front of the aquarium come into view. It was painted with a vibrant array of fish and sea life, and they instantly knew that the drive was finally over. Shiro was happy to see them so excited.

Guides from the aquarium came out to greet them, though Shiro was relieved to see the woman from before was absent. They had the kids split into three groups, about ten to each carer from Altea Kindergarten, which meant that Shiro wouldn’t be with Allura again until the groups met up for lunch and then to leave. He was a little glad they’d gone on their date when he realised that was the case.

The guides explained the rules to the kids as Shiro went around to double check everyone had their name tags. Lance, Keith, Pidge, Hunk and Shay were all his group, which he was unsurprised about.

Once everything was explained and the groups were ready to split off, the guides began to lead them off to their sections. Shiro’s group would be doing the educational activities first, and then they would go to the normal displays, before finally going to the interactive displays after a short lunch break. The entire class would meet up again after doing their last activity was lunch was finished to see a show before they left.

The inside of the aquarium was as interesting as he remembered it being. The section they were led to passed entrances to underwater walkways and passages with glass floors. In the educational room, where a series of activities were set up for young children like those at Altea, they were surrounded by small windows into larger tanks, where fish and other sea creatures of all sizes and colours could be seen swimming about. Trying to keep the children in line as they went to the activities table was a challenge.

Compared to the temptations of the displays, the activities were kind of boring. Shiro was relieved that his group went first with them – he couldn’t imagine either Keith or Lance being able to sit through the activities when they’d already seen some of the more interesting displays. 

Still, most of the activities weren’t too difficult – the kids had to match certain animals to their scientific names, or listen to the teacher explain environmental concerns, or something similar like that. There was even a part where they had to go and draw one of the fish in the tanks, and when they got to play with an interactive table that showed digital images of the habitats the surrounding fish most commonly lived in.

Shiro was more than happy to help the kids get through their tasks as quickly as possible. He passed around pencils that had rolled too far along the table tops and lifted the kids up to see higher into the tanks and pointed out the right answers when the guide wasn’t looking, which earned him a round of giggles. It was all in good fun, and it made him happy to see them enjoy themselves. Even Lance and Keith didn’t argue as much as they usually did, instead too preoccupied with all the things going on around them.

The next activity was far more interesting. The kids walked in their two lines again, though they milled in a circle around every tank they stopped at. The guide was very energetic and spoke in ways that the kids could easily understand, which Shiro was happy to see. They’d probably had a lot of experience with children like this, and even still he had a lot of energy. 

When lunch time finally came, they were led to a wide room where there were seats and tables for the kids to eat at. He made sure everyone still had their nametags while he waited for the rest of the class to arrive, and when everyone was present, he sat down at a table with Coran and Allura to eat. 

As much as he’d enjoyed the first two activities, he knew the last activity and the show would be what his kids _really_ loved. He couldn’t wait for them to see it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is only the first part of their little trip to the aquarium~ I just started uni again, so it's been a bit hard adjusting to work and leisure writing aha ^^" I caught a fever these last two days as well, so it made it difficult to look at a computer screen for any extended amount of time. Hopefully I can get into the swing of things soon!


	116. Interactive

“Are the kids enjoying themselves?” Allura asked, as she passed Shiro a fresh bottle of water across the table.

He turned his eyes away from the kids, who had finally settled down to eat, and took the bottle of water with a small, thankful smile. “They are,” he said, nodding. “They’re behaving well too, though they are a bit excited. I’m sure their energy is going to skyrocket with the next activity.”

“Oh, definitely,” Allura said, laughing. “My group loved the interactive display.” She snuck a glance at Coran. “Though I heard a certain teacher we know screamed when a starfish crawled across his hand.”

Coran huffed. “I did no such thing. It was just slippery, I tell you.”

Shiro laughed too. “Of course,” he teased, “our brave Coran would never be afraid of a tiny sea creature.”

“Exactly!”

Lunch passed with ease. Once the kids had finished eating, the guides came to collect their groups, and they were off again. Shiro was sure to give Allura a small kiss on the cheek on his way out, and delighted in the way her face coloured. Even with all the ways she teased him, he could still do unexpected things. It was a rather pleasing thought.

With all his kids rounded up, Shiro followed along after their guide. They were taken to the interactive rooms, and almost instantly he could feel a shift in the kid’s energy. The tanks were open-lidded, and low enough for all of them to see and reach into if they stood on the little steps at the edge of each tank. Little signs on the glass explained what was in each tank and how to approach them, though he doubted the kids would bother to read what was written down.

“Alright,” the guide said, as the children gathered around them, “welcome to our interactive tanks! These are the tanks you are allowed to put your hands into, and to touch. Of course, there are some ground rules we have to go through before I can let you have fun, so listen up, alright?”

Rules brought a round of impatient groans, but a stern look from Shiro had every child listening carefully. They weren’t allowed to pull anything out of the tanks, put anything in the tanks, or to pick up any sea creatures or shells they happened to find. They had to wash their hands before reaching into the water, too. The rules were pretty standard, and the kids could grasp them well enough. Once their hands had been washed, they were free to roam amongst the tanks as much as they wished.

The kids _loved_ it. Shiro found himself taking photo after photo and video after video as the children explored the tanks with gentle hands.

“Shiro, look at this!” Lance said, as he lightly ran his fingers down a starfish. “It’s so slippery!”

Shiro laughed, and watched over Lance’s shoulder as he and Keith waved their hands through the water. Lance looked right at home, but Keith was hesitant, and kept his fingers away from the rocks and shells where sea creatures were hiding. 

“Keith, you have to touch this one,” Lance said.

“Uh… I’m alright.”

“What, are you _scared?”_

“I’m not scared!” Keith said. He put his hands in the water, but hesitated again, wincing.

“How about we do it together?” Shiro said, as he crouched behind the two kids. “It looks like it feels gross, huh?”

“Exactly,” Keith nodded. He seemed rather relieved when Shiro offered him his (normal) hand so that he wouldn’t have to touch the starfish by himself. With Keith’s tiny fingers held gently in his, he reached forwards and pressed their palms against the top of the starfish Lance had pointed out. He couldn’t help bit cringe at the strange, almost rough texture of it, and was suddenly more sympathetic to Coran’s experiences. 

Either way, Keith seemed a lot braver after getting over that initial first touch, and he had no more trouble moving around the tanks after that. He followed Lance around very closely, which was something Shiro started to notice more and more as the activity went on. It was like Keith didn’t want to leave Lance alone, which normally wouldn’t have been too strange, but felt a little odd.

It was obvious that Lance liked the water. Even with the lake incident, he still didn’t fear water, and his mother was always telling Shiro about how well his swimming lessons were going, even recently. Keith, on the other hand, seemed quite… hesitant. There was something about the way he acted that puzzled Shiro until he realised exactly what the problem was.

It wasn’t Keith’s actions that were strange, it was his _reactions._ Specifically, his reactions to Lance sticking his arms elbow-deep into water and leaning over the rim of the tanks. Keith almost seemed like he was afraid of Lance falling into the water, which certainly worried Shiro. While Lance had come away from the lake incident mostly unscathed, it seemed like Keith was still troubled over it.

Shiro made a note to talk to him about that later.

For now, he let the kids enjoy themselves. Lance was teaching Keith how to pet the starfish without freaking out, his arm firm around Keith’s waist so that his friend couldn’t run away. Pidge, Hunk and Shay were all enjoying themselves at a tank across from the other two, marvelling at the rock and coral formations that filled the water. The other kids were equally as happy, sectioned off in their own little group of friends.

Shiro saw no problem in letting them enjoy themselves until they had to go and be seated for the show.


	117. Show

The show arena was outdoors under a shaded cover area. A circular tank almost as tall as Shiro dominated the apex of the space, of which a stage complete with props and a background stood behind waiting for the performers. The seats in front of the tank were curved to follow the shape of the glass, and while the seats at the back were higher up for better viewing, the ones close by the tank were eye level with the majority of the water.

While many of the seats for the show were already starting to be filled, there was an area at the front specifically for educational groups like theirs, so that’s where the kids were taken. Shiro’s group was the second to arrive after Coran’s, so he had them all sit in the front two rows before joining Coran in the third. They didn’t have to wait long until Allura’s group arrived, and then they were all together, ready to see the show.

“Shiro, what’s the show gonna be about?” Lance asked, as he twisted around to face the adults. He and the majority of Shiro’s group were in the second row, though no one was complaining. They were all quite close to the tank, after all.

“You’ll have to wait and see, buddy,” Shiro said, laughing quietly. “It’s a surprise.”

Lance pouted, but turned back to the front without any further questions. He might be impatient, but he did love surprises, and Shiro knew he was going to love this one.

There would be two parts to the show. The first started shortly after everyone was seated. A trainer came out to greet them, a microphone perched in front of his mouth as he made grand gestures. He introduced himself and his “guests” as he gave the crowd facts about the ocean and what the preservation programs at the aquarium were accomplishing. It was interesting to hear about, though the audience was clearly eager for the actual show to start.

It was a seal performance. Seals too tame to be reintroduced into the wild were kept at the aquarium, and their prowess and intelligence were showed off with a series of simple tricks that really wowed the audience.

If Shiro were being honest, even he was amazed by the performance. The seals could toss balls around on their noses with ease and spin through the water with a gracefulness that reminded him of birds. They chattered back at their trainers with real attitudes, and even pretended to ignore them, much to the amusement of the trainers themselves. He was not the only person muffling laughs when the seals dramatically howled and threw themselves into the water before sticking nothing but their noses back out, keen for a treat. 

“Now, as you can see,” one of the trainers said, as she gave her swimming partner an overly exaggerated eye roll, “sometimes our seals just don’t want to listen! Maybe someone in the audience can help me. Any takers?”

Hands shot up all over the crowd, but in the end, it was Lance that the trainer chose. Lance jumped up with an excited grin and made his way to the front of the tank.

“Lovely!” The trainer said. “What’s your name, young man?”

“It’s Lance!”

“Lance!” The trainer repeated energetically. “Won’t everyone thank Lance for volunteering? C’mon, let’s clap!”

The seal standing beside her turned its head away even as the audience clapped, making Lance giggle. 

The trainer put her hands on her hips and gave the seal a stern look. “Come now, is that any way to treat our beloved guests? Let’s try again everyone, and this time, let’s clap even louder for Lance!”

Another round of applause burst across the crowd, louder this time. And this time, the seal joined in, letting out excited barks as it did. The crowd was instantly awed, and the seal was more than happy to snap up a fish as a reward for its effort.

“Now then, I have a special task for you, Lance,” the instructor said. She put her right hand up in the air. “Can you copy me?”

“Yeah!” Lance said, as he lifted his hand.

“Good!” She said. “Looks like my friend here can see you, too. Can you wave? Like this!”

Lance waved his arm to the side just like how the trainer did. The seal perked up at the sight of Lance, and eagerly dove into the water to swim circles at the front of the tank. 

“Now, those in the front row might get a little wet, but we have a trick we’d like to show you!” The trainer announced. “On the count of three, Lance, I want you to wave your arm in a big circle, just like this!” She waved her arm in a high arch from one side to the next. “Can you do that?”

“Yes!”

“Alright then, on three! One, two… three!”

In time with the trainer’s counting, Lance copied her wide movements. The seal reacted instantly, and swim a sharp line right across the front of the tank, one fin perked high in the air. A surge of water spilled over its edge and splashed across those in the front row, Lance included, producing rounds of applause and surprised laughter. It certainly was a pretty amazing trick.

But Shiro’s attention was on Keith. He wasn’t looking frightened, exactly, but his eyes were stricken, and he had a tight grip on the bench. Shiro leaned forwards. “Keith, can you come up here for a second buddy?”

Keith jumped at the sound of Shiro’s voice, and swallowed. He pried his fingers away from the edge and slipped away from the bench. The others were so distracted by the show that they didn’t notice, but Allura did. Shiro shot her a small glance, and she looked away, trusting his judgement. 

“You’re not in trouble,” Shiro said, as he took Keith’s hands in his. The imprint of the bench had left white marks across his palms. “But you look a little tense. What’s wrong, Keith?”

Keith glanced over his shoulder once more before meeting Shiro’s eyes. “What if it pulls him in?” He whispered. “Lance will get hurt again if he’s near the water.”

Shiro tried not to sigh. He’d feared that Keith might still harbour a little misplaced guilt over what happened at the lake. Keith had really started to become protective over Lance lately, perhaps more than any of them had realised. “Don’t worry Keith, Lance will be fine,” he said. “I want to talk to you about this later, okay? When it’s just us. Does that sound alright?”

Looking oddly relieved, Keith nodded. 

“Here, why don’t you sit with me until Lance comes back,” Shiro said, as he shuffled to the side. He knew Keith would have normally refused, but it would only be for a moment or so, so Keith sat. “You can squeeze my hand if you need to, okay?”

Again, Keith nodded. He took advantage of Shiro’s offer when he needed it.

Still, despite Keith’s worries, Shiro thought he was enjoying himself. Especially when Lance came back to his seat and Keith could keep a tight grip on the back of his shirt. With Lance away from the water, the tension in Keith waned, and he could return to being just as fascinated by the show as everyone else. 

Shiro was glad to see Keith’s concern fade. “I hope they enjoy themselves while we’re here,” he said quietly.

Allura’s hand sought his out, and she held on tightly. “Don’t worry, I have no doubt that they will.”


	118. Mermaids

The second half of the show started after a short intermission. Shiro had been so busy trying to dry off Lance’s hair with his jumper that he almost didn’t notice, not until Lance let out an excited noise and jerked upright, no longer content to sit and let Shiro fret over him. 

“Don’t worry so much,” Allura, as she reached for his hand. He could hear the laughter in her voice. “The kids are just fine. Won’t you enjoy the show now, Shiro?”

“I have enjoyed it,” he said petulantly, trying not to pout when she could no longer muffle her laughter. “I’ll stop hovering.”

She pressed her face against his shoulder to hide a smile, and didn’t let go of his hand as they both settled in to watch the show. A presenter had walked on stage and was eagerly explaining their next performance – one that would be put on by members of their staff. This was the show that Allura and Shiro had briefly glanced in on during their tour, and was one of the deciding reasons they’d taken the kids here today.

It was a mermaid show.

He hadn’t had even the smallest clue that they did that here. The performance tank was certainly deep enough and wide enough for the performers to swim around in, and from what he’d seen of their costumes, he knew the show had a lot of wow-factor. They hadn’t been able to watch for long during their tour, but what he had seen had astounded him. He didn’t know humans were capable of swimming so beautifully. 

After the presenter had finished explaining their show, panels at the back side of the tank suddenly slid open, and the two swimmers swam their way into the tank. The first had a tail that was long and blue, fringed with lacy fins and beads and all sorts of pretty things. The second was a reddish pink with similar adornments but bigger, more solid fins. Both the tails glittered in the water like stars, and the gasps of amazement from the audience were well placed.

“They’re mermaids!” Lance cried, as he grabbed onto Keith’s arm. “Keith, Keith! Can you see?”

“I can see,” Keith said. His eyes were wide, just like Lance’s were. They were both utterly enraptured.

The performance carried on just as beautifully as Shiro remembered it being. He was so glad they were able to see the entire thing this time – it really was beautiful. The performers could hold their breaths for a startlingly long time, and when they surfaced, it was never with harsh gasps or pants. Rather, they timed their periodic surfacing to fit seamlessly into the routine, so much so that it hardly seemed like they were coming up for air at all.

It was mesmerizing to watch them perform. They swum in circles and performed tricks with their tails. It was like they were dancing underwater, like it was more natural for them to be there rather than on land.

When the show was finished, there was a quiet, speechless hush over the audience that abruptly broke out into applause. The swimmers approached the front of the tank and hooked their arms over the edge so that they could wave to everyone. When the presenter from before announced that the audience was free to go up to them, the kids jumped out of their seats. 

“Wasn’t that just beautiful?” Allura said with a pleased sigh as they stood. “It was worth the drive.”

Shiro nodded. He made sure to keep an eye on the kids as they shook hands with the mermaids and admired their tails, though he knew their class would act responsibly around other adults. He was rather happy to see how in awe Lance looked. He could have called out for Lance and he was sure that Lance was too distracted to respond. He was looking at the mermaids like they’d suddenly given him the sun, and when he shook one of their hands, Shiro was sure he was going to cry.

“I think they’ve enjoyed themselves,” Allura said, smiling. “They all look really happy.”

And they did. Hunk, Pidge, Shay, Keith, Lance, and all the other kids too – they looked like they’d enjoyed the day to its fullest. Coran, as well. That alone was enough to satisfy Shiro, but Allura’s content smiles were like the cherry on top.

He almost didn’t want to leave.


	119. Musings

It struck Shiro one night when he was sitting cross-legged on the lounge room floor folding laundry just how much he loved Allura and their little home. The smell of detergent from the freshly washed clothes and the rug beneath his feet and sound of Allura typing away at her computer in the other room had all become familiar to him. 

He wondered when they’d leave this house. If… if they were together in the future (which he hoped they would be) they’d probably need a bigger house, wouldn’t they? He’d never really thought about having kids or getting married, but they were both things he found he desired if he were with Allura. If she wanted those things as well, that was. 

But it would be nice, wouldn’t it? Their wages were pretty decent, and if they saved up for a while, they could certainly afford a deposit on a house. He doubted Allura would want to move away from the kindergarten – it was her mother’s legacy, after all – and this area was very affordable. They would surely be able to find a house big enough for them and their pets and any future additions to their little family.

Would they keep the same furniture? Shiro kind of liked what they had. They had enough to furnish their small apartment, but a house would need more. They could buy more things for their kitchen, perhaps. Between their combined possessions they had most of a kitchen set, but they could get a new toaster, or something. If they had a house with a garden then Allura could grow more flowers, too. She’d like that, wouldn’t she? He thought she would.

Thinking about that just had him flustered. With the last of their laundry folded, he set the clean clothes aside in the basket, and flopped down on the couch. A life with Allura certainly sounded perfect. Maybe he could help in her garden and see her Mountain Juniberries bloom. They could get a dog too, if they had a yard, but it would have to be one that got along with Balmera and Panther. 

He would have gotten lost in his embarrassing thoughts if Allura hadn’t come out to find him. “Finished with the laundry?” She asked, a brow perked.

“Yeah,” he said, as he gave her a pleasant smile. “Care to join me?”

She laughed quietly, and took a seat on the edge of the couch. “I dare say there’s not much room for me with you all spread out,” she said teasingly. Nevertheless, she put an affectionate hand on his chest and slouched against him, content to sit in her odd position. “What were you thinking about?” She asked.

Embarrassed, he covered his eyes with his arm. “Nothing,” he mumbled. 

Idly, she traced patterns on his chest, like she wasn’t really aware of what she was doing. “Won’t you tell me?”

He shook his head.

She chuckled, but didn’t push the issue. Maybe his red cheeks were enough of an answer for her. Still, he reached down to put a hand on her thigh, and let himself luxuriate in the quietness of their evening. Though all he’d done that night was housework and dinner, he hadn’t hated it. He hadn’t dreaded doing it. That in itself was odd, but he put it down to being in Allura’s presence. 

Even mundane chores became something domestic and pleasantly mindless when he was with her.

“Allura?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you go on a date with me?”

She laughed. “Shiro, we’re dating. You don’t need to ask.”

“I know,” he said, “but I wanted to anyway.”

She smiled to herself. “Well, if that’s the case, then of course I’ll go on a date with you.”

He smiled too. He enjoyed making her smile like that.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Don’t know yet,” he said, faltering. “I’ll think of something, don’t worry.”


	120. Flyer

Shiro had a lot of ideas for his date with Allura. He thought he had a pretty good grasp of Allura’s likes and dislikes, and was sure he’d be able to think of something perfect for her eventually. He considered cafes and parks and bookstores, and while they were places she enjoyed visiting, he thought there could be somewhere new he could take her.

He ended up finding the place by complete chance. Sometimes in the mornings, when they got away from home on time, they’d stop and pick up coffee for Coran and themselves. It was a little treat they gave themselves every now and then, though Coran always protested that the coffees he made were much better (which, of course, they were – but he still drank the coffee bought for him at the coffee shop too).

While Shiro waited for his order, he’d noticed a stack of paper flyers sitting on the register. He took one without really thinking about it, mostly because he needed something to do while he waited, but what was on it turned out to be quite helpful.

Although he’d been living in this town for quite a while, he’d never really had the motivation to explore it. He’d been places with Allura, like the little grocer’s near her home, and they visited Allura’s favourite parks often, but there was always more to discover. The little pamphlet was featuring one such place – an orchard. 

Or, more specifically, an apple orchard.

He hadn’t known there was one so close by. It was only an hour’s drive away, and apparently all the apples were still in season. He hadn’t known that either, but both were surprisingly pleasant facts to learn. It seemed like the perfect, quiet place to take her where they could both enjoy a day out in the fresh air.

Pleased at his discovery, he tucked the flyer away in his pocket, and continued to patiently wait for his order. He would be sure to ask Allura her opinion on the orchard and apple picking later in the day, but he was sure that she would enjoy it. 

What better place to go now that autumn and its colours were finally beginning to show?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something short for today because I'm incredibly tired ahhh ^^"


	121. Colours

They decided to go to the orchard on the weekend. After Shiro had proudly shown Allura the flyer the moment he’d entered the car that morning, she’d laughed, and agreed it was the perfect place to go. Shiro would reserve a timeslot for them for Saturday night so that they could have dinner at the restaurant the orchard owned, too. 

With that decided, Shiro was free to focus on work. He knew the kids were going to have a show-and-tell later in the week, and that the children loved it when the adults brought in something to show off as well. It had to be something meaningful and important, and he was at a loss for what to bring. 

But that was a concern for future Shiro, he thought. He had other things to worry about, like cleaning up after the kid’s latest arts-and-crafts afternoon and Lance’s recent obsession with all things mermaid. Perhaps that last one wasn’t as worrying as it was amusing, but either way, it was something on Shiro’s list of things to watch out for.

It was as he was moving the drying rack, full of freshly made paintings and glitter-covered creations, that he noticed Lance’s drawing. It looked like he’d drawn all of his close friends – Hunk, Pidge and Keith, as well as himself – as mermaids. They each had tails of their corresponding colour, too. Yellow for Hunk, green for Pidge, red for Keith, and of course blue for Lance. Each tail was covered in glitter.

“He must have really liked that show, huh?” Allura said, as she came over to peer across his shoulder. “Look at all those mermaids he’s been drawing. I heard him talking about them yesterday, too.”

“Was he?”

“Oh, quite a lot,” Allura nodded. “I think he was trying to convince Keith that they are real, though I don’t think he succeeded much.”

Shiro laughed. “That does sound like something he’d do,” he admitted, as he set the rack by the window. The drawings would dry much quicker over here, and it was more out of the way of the kids. “I guess he really did like the show. I thought he was going to cry when that performer shook his hand and gave him a big smile.”

“I thought so too,” Allura said, amused. “Isn’t he just the sweetest? He’s always been a bit of a water baby, hasn’t he?”

Shiro had heard Lance’s parents say the same thing once or twice. Lance was an exceptional swimmer for his age, and he wasn’t scared of the water. Not even after the incident at the lake did he shy away from swimming. He’d been right at home at the aquarium, and overjoyed to stand close to the performance tank and get splashed. 

Speaking of which, Shiro still had to have that talk with Keith, but he was trying to wait for the right moment. He had to do it soon so that Keith would be able to clearly remember everything he felt, but he didn’t want to force Keith into it. He was pretty sure the right moment would come eventually. 

“Shiro? You’ve got a thinking frown on your face,” Allura said, as she peered closer at him.

“A what?”

“A thinking frown,” she repeated. Gently, she lifted a hand, and smoothed her fingertips over the furrow in his brow. “There, all gone. What’s got you thinking so hard all of a sudden?”

He gave her a small smile. “It’s nothing bad, don’t worry.”

“If you say so,” she conceded. After giving him a small, discreet kiss, she wandered off to get back to work.

And after taking a moment to watch her, his heart heavy with affection, he followed.


	122. Sleepy

Saturday turned out to be a pretty nice day, Shiro thought. They didn’t have to start driving out to the orchard until around lunch time, but he woke up early anyway to get some of their usual Saturday house-work done beforehand. Allura was fonder of sleeping in, so after pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, he shut their bedroom door and let her be.

He got a fresh load of laundry halfway down in the washing machine and all of their dishes put away before Allura finally woke. She still seemed sleepy as she watched him wipe down the bench tops, muffling a yawn with her hand. “You should have woken me,” she said, as she wandered over.

Shiro set down the rag he had been using to wipe the bench in favour of looping his arms around Allura’s waist. He was more than happy to run his hand down her back as she pressed another yawn into his chest. “I wanted to let you rest for a little while longer,” he said.

“You’re always doing that,” she huffed, but it wasn’t an aggravated sound. “You should sleep in with me too.”

He chuckled. “I’m not much of a sleep-in type of person.”

“I know,” she said, giving him an exaggerated sigh. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No, but I had a cup of tea.”

“I’ll make breakfast for you, then,” she said, as she patted his chest twice and pulled herself away. “Take a seat, don’t worry about anything else for a while. Once we’re done I’ll help you.”

He laughed at her insistence, but her breakfasts were usually quite delicious, so he didn’t argue. She had him sit down at the kitchen bench, which he did without complaints, before she starting to dig through the fridge to find eggs. 

“With toast or as an omelette?” She asked over her shoulder.

“With toast is fine, thank you.”

He rested his chin in his hand as he watched Allura cook. It was only a simple breakfast, but because she was the one cooking it, it was bound to taste great. He usually cooked breakfast on weekdays because he was the first one up and out of the shower, but she took over on the weekend, when they could both afford to eat at a later hour. 

“What else do we need to do today?” She asked, as she sleepily yawned again. “I need to shower before we go, too.”

“I’ve got washing in the machine, so it needs to be hung out to dry,” Shiro said. “We can probably fold and iron the clothes tomorrow… but the bath towels and sofa covers need to be washed today. I did the dishes though.”

She chuckled. “Yes, I can see. The kitchen is spotless.”

“If you say so,” he laughed.

They ate breakfast together in peace, and although Allura protested, Shiro washed up so that she could shower. They still had an hour or two before they had to leave, so there was something they could probably do, but he wouldn’t be opposed to relaxing. 

He would leave it to Allura to decide what they did until they had to leave.


	123. Orchard

The drive to the orchard was pleasant. Allura fiddled with the radio while Shiro listened to the GPS drone on with directions. He’d never driven this way before, but it was a nice drive. Soon enough the suburbs bled away into forests and growing fields. It was scenic, but nothing was prettier than the orchard as it loomed into view. 

A pretty sign signalled when he needed to turn, and after driving down a lengthy but paved driveway they found themselves at the front of the orchard. There were several buildings that separated the driveway and the orchard itself, but Shiro could see the trees on either side of the property, and the sight of them left him a little excited. 

He parked the car, and together they walked up the front stairs and into the reception room. The inside of the building was nicely furnished, and was very cosy – like something he’d see out of a movie. Allura seemed very impressed, and that left Shiro more than satisfied. 

After they checked in at the restaurant to assure their seating later that night, a guide came over to lead them to the orchard.

“You can pick as many as you want,” she said, as she handed both Allura and Shiro a basket and a small pamphlet each. “But try not to overflow the basket, or it’ll get heavy. The pamphlet I’ve given you will show you which apples are the ripest, and which ones to pick depending on how long you’ll have them before they’re eaten or used.”

“Thank you,” Shiro said, as he took the pamphlet and basket from her.

“No problem!” She said with a friendly smile. “If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or one of the other staff members, we’ll gladly help you! And if you finish early or it gets too dark, feel free to come in and use our lounge while you wait for dinner.”

“Sounds perfect,” Allura said. “Thank you.”

They were led through the building and out into the orchard, where the guide pointed out places they could visit before leaving them be. Allura linked her arm through Shiro’s before they were off, eagerly walking through the rows of trees that much up the orchard.

“It’s so pretty here,” Allura said, as they stopped at a tree so that she could pluck a red apple from its branches. “I didn’t think so many of the trees would still be producing fruit.”

“I didn’t either,” Shiro agreed. “But it’s nice, isn’t it?”

“It’s lovely,” Allura grinned.

Walking through the rows of trees was peaceful. Shiro was content to let Allura dictate which trees they stopped at, and happily took apples from them with her. Whenever she couldn’t reach one he’d pull it down for her and she’d give him a stunning smile.

With their baskets half full each and the sun starting to set, they made their way inside. There was still half an hour until their dinner reservation – Shiro hadn’t realised the time had flown by quite that fast – so they left their baskets in cubbies given to them by the staff members and settled on a lounge to wait. 

Dinner passed easily, with smooth flowing conversations and the warmth of some sort of apple-infused wine. Shiro only had one glass before he switched to chilled water, knowing that he was going to drive home. The food was outstanding, and Allura let him try some off her plate when his gaze lingered on it for a little too long.

Dessert was just as appealing. He shouldn’t have been surprised that the majority of the dessert menu was filled with apples, but he was surprised with how creative some of the dishes were. Allura was certainly eager to try something, and Shiro watched in amusement as she devoured the dessert she chose. He let her try some of his, knowing she favoured sweet things. He was unsurprised when she liked his dessert, too. It was definitely worth making a reservation at the restaurant. He was very glad he’d picked up that flyer from the café the other morning. 

“This is such a nice place,” Allura said, as they lingered in the restaurant just after finishing their desserts. “Thank you for bringing me here, Shiro. Today was so enjoyable.”

“I’m glad you have fun,” Shiro said, face warm.

Maybe they could make this place a regular spot for them to visit.


	124. Swan

Show-and-tell happened early the next week, after the weekend passed. The kids had a few days to think of what to bring, and come Monday (with a few helpful reminders from their parents) they all had something with them to share with the class.

It was interesting to see what the kids brought in; their variety of items reminded Shiro of just how different their families were, and just how differently they’d all grown up. For some of the kids, the only commonalities they had with each other was the kindergarten they attended. Many of the kids brought in a doll or a photo, or a piece of jewellery lent to them by their parents.

Pidge was the first of Shiro’s little group to show off his item. “This is one of my brother’s inventions,” Pidge said, as he held up a small, triangular robot.

It was one that Shiro recognised. Matt had always been making something when they were in the Garrison, even if it wasn’t for work. Everyone knew that if they had scrap metal or spare tools or anything like that, then they could give it to Matt and he’d gladly use it. When he’d found out he was going to have a baby sibling, he’d made dozens of little toys, and sent them back for when Pidge was older.

The little triangle was one of them. He’d called it “Rover” – named after the dog, or maybe the dog was named after it, Shiro couldn’t quite remember – and it didn’t do much more than beep, flash and rove around, but it was pretty cool. If nothing else, it looked very important and very scientific, and it certainly had the other kids impressed. 

“My brother made it,” Pidge said proudly for what was likely the tenth time as he finished explaining how the robot worked. He set it on the floor. “Once you press this button to turn it on, it moves around.”

Sure enough, the mechanical Rover flickered to life, its panels glowing, before it starting to buzz around the floor. It was designed to sense and avoid obstacles, including giggly children, and ended up just wandering around the room while the other children took their turns to show-and-tell. 

Hunk was next. His family was Samoan, so he brought in a piece of their traditional jewellery. “This is called an Ula Fala,” Hunk said, as he held up the lei. “These red things are pieces of a pandanus fruit.”

“Are they normally red?” Keith asked, his eyes bright and focused on the necklace. 

“No,” Hunk laughed. “Ma says that they’re dried and then they’re painted red.”

“Why red?” Lance asked. “Why not blue?”

“Well, red was usually a colour that only the royals wore,” Hunk said. “And in ancient times, it was to show respect. But now anyone can wear it, so we paint the Ula Fala red.”

Shiro was surprised by how much Hunk knew about his culture. It was very interesting to hear, and Hunk spoke very eloquently. Shiro wondered how many times he’d had those words spoken to him before, and found himself feeling oddly nostalgic. His own mother had whispered stories of her culture to him countless times when he was a child, and he’d loved hearing them.

Perhaps Hunk was the same with his Samoan traditions. 

Lance brought in a picture of his family. It was A4 sized, and filled with all of his immediate family members and his cousins – from where Shiro was sitting at the back of the room, he couldn’t count them all. 

“My Mamá says that it’s common for families to have a lot of people back in Spain,” Lance said, as he pointed at people and rattled off names. “I already have both an older brother and an older sister, as well as two younger brothers – they’re twins.”

“Do you like having a big family?” Shay asked from where she was sitting beside Hunk on the floor. “I only have an older brother.”

“I do!” Lance grinned. He reached into the folder he’d carried his photo in and pulled out another one. “Look, this is going to be my new brother or sister.”

He held up a printed picture of an unborn baby. It was only small, a barely discernible shape, but the woman – Lance’s mother – was just far enough along in her pregnancy that the shape of a baby could be made out. 

“I didn’t know she was pregnant,” Allura whispered to him, surprised. “This is a nice way to find out, though.”

Shiro nodded. There was a smile on his face – he already knew Lance was an amazing big brother to his younger siblings, and that he was going to positively adore his new brother or sister. “I wonder if the baby will come here when they’re Lance’s age,” Shiro said.

“The twins are coming next year,” Allura told him. “They’ve been pre-enrolled for a little while now.”

Keith was the last from Shiro’s little group. With the other kids, Shiro thought he could have almost predicted what they’d bring in – Pidge and technology, Hunk and something cultural, Lance and a part of his family. Keith was a bit more of a mystery. He didn’t seem like the type to bring in a family photo or something Korean. 

What he did have, however, was a little music box. 

Made from transparent panels of glass held together by strips of gold-painted metal, the inner workings of the music box were plainly visible. A glass swan spun gently when its key was wound, and a pretty chiming burst forth from the box.

“My grandfather gave this to me,” Keith set, as he let the swan slowly spin. “It was a present for my grandmother, and when she passed away, she told him that he could give it to me. My Mother used to wind it up when I went to sleep.”

Shiro would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised by what Keith had brought in. It seemed like a very vulnerable item, one he perhaps wouldn’t have thought about sharing six months ago. Now, though, he seemed more than fine with sharing a softer, more personal side to himself. Seeing him be so gentle with the music box was sweet, too. 

After he’d had his turn, when the next child was standing, Keith didn’t immediately take his seat. Instead he carefully cradled his music box and wandered over to Shiro, looking hesitant. “Can you mind this for me?” Keith asked, as he held out the music box. “I don’t want to break it.”

“Sure thing, buddy,” Shiro said, surprised, as he instinctively held out his hands. Keith set the music box down, uncaring that it clinked against Shiro’s prosthetic, and after making sure Shiro’s fingers were curled around it safely, he was on his way.

Distantly, Shiro wondered when Keith had grown up so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to write this a few days ago, but I couldn't quite decide what each of the kids should have for show-and-tell. Pidge and Hunk were easy to decide, and I knew Lance would have something to do with his family, but Keith was difficult. In the end I went with something similar to what I remember having as a child. It was only as I finished writing it that I suddenly had the thought of Keith being the ugly duckling that's all grown up now :')


	125. Visit

It was late one evening when Shiro was busy cooking dinner that his phone began to ring. He had his hands full, but when he saw the caller I.D, he made room for his phone. “Hey, Ma,” he said. “How are you?”

“Shiro, it’s nice to hear from you again,” she said pleasantly. “I’m well. I haven’t caught you at a bad time, have I?”

“No, it’s alright,” he said. “What can I help you with?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you and Allura would be free next weekend!” She said. “Your father and I want to come down and visit you, and we really want to meet Allura, too. We can do any weekend if that’s too soon notice for you, though.”

Shiro’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected that, but it was a welcome suggestion for sure. “Hold on, I’ll check with Allura,” he said, hoping that his excitement didn’t bleed into his voice too much. He tucked his phone against his shoulder before hearing his mother’s reply, and turned his head back towards the kitchen doorway. “Allura?” He called.

“Yeah?” She responded from the lounge room. “Need some help?”

“No, but are we doing anything this weekend?” He asked.

“Not that I’m aware of,” she said, puzzled. “Why?”

“My parents want to come down and visit.”

“Oh, I want them to!” She said. “Tell them they can come any time!”

Shiro chuckled, and lifted his phone back up to his ear. “Allura said-”

“I heard, honey,” his mother interrupted. “Isn’t she just the sweetest? Oh, I can’t wait to meet her. So this weekend works for you two okay?”

“Yeah, come by any time,” he said, smiling to himself as he slowly stirred their dinner. “Do you want me to cook? We can order food if you want.”

“Whatever is easiest, honey,” she said. “You know your father would be quite happy with nothing more than Chinese takeaway. It’s a lot less washing up, too.”

Shiro laughed. “We’ll see. I’ll figure something out, don’t worry.” 

“I’m sure you will,” she laughed too, sounding fond. “Well, sorry for disturbing you so late at night! I’ll leave you to it. See you next weekend, Shiro.”

“See you next week.”

He set his phone down, and continued making dinner. It should be ready soon, and then he and Allura would set the table and eat their meal together. Shiro would ask about Allura’s day, though he already knows how it went (he was with her, after all) but he likes to hear it anyway. She’d ask about his too, and listen to him talk about what his kids did all day and what Lance and Keith argued about this specific time. 

They’d probably talk about his parents, too. He didn’t think Allura was frightened of meeting them, and he knew she would make a brilliant impression. His parents already loved her, after all. Just thinking about how his father showed off Allura’s photo to everyone he could made Shiro flush. 

He couldn’t wait for his parents to meet her.


	126. Good

Shiro decided to cook dinner for when his parents came over. While there certainly would be more washing up to do at the end of the night, like his mother had mentioned, he still wanted to put in the effort. Maybe his mother would worry about him a little less if she could see that he was more than capable of taking care of himself (and Allura). 

On Saturday morning, Shiro and Allura walked down to the fresh food grocers to find ingredients. It was a nice walk, even if Allura had to wake up a little earlier than usual. She could be persuaded, however, with Shiro’s promise to buy her flowers.

They walked hand-in-hand down the store aisles. Shiro held the basket in his other hand, and had Allura place ingredients in whenever he asked for them. It was a quiet morning at the store, but pleasant. Light streamed in from the wide windows and all the fruit looked fresh and dewy and the sweet smell of baked goods permeated the air. 

“Do you think they’ll like me?” Allura asked, as she slipped a punnet of bright red strawberries into their basket. “I mean, will they really?”

“Of course they will,” Shiro said. He was surprised by the question, but when he remembered how nervous he’d been around Alfor, he understood her feelings a little more. “They already love you. You should have heard how excited my mother was when she heard your voice over the phone the other night.”

Allura gave him a small smile. “I just want to make a good impression,” she said, as she glanced down, like she was nervous. “I want them to think I’m good for you.”

“They already know you are,” he insisted. “They always ask how you are and what you’ve been up to.”

“They do?”

“Yeah, quite a lot, actually,” Shiro said. “You know, I sent a photo of you to them.”

Her cheeks coloured. “Well, I hope it was a good one! You didn’t tell me that.”

“Of course it was a good one, they’re all good ones,” Shiro teased. He smiled as Allura’s cheeks went even darker. “My Ma thinks you’re beautiful, you know.”

Allura smiled too, her eyes going soft. “That’s sweet of her to say.”

“My Dad thinks the same thing,” Shiro said. “It’s kind of embarrassing, but he shows off your picture to everyone. Says, _look at this real beauty._ I have to scold him for doing it.”

Allura laughed, covering her face with her hand. “That’s so embarrassing!” She cried.

“Tell me about it!”

Allura’s laughter was sweet. She seemed to be feeling a lot better knowing just how much Shiro’s parents liked her, and although Shiro was twice as embarrassed as ever, he was glad he’d told her that little story. 

“Trust me, Allura,” he said, when their laughter had died down, “they’re going to love you.” He leaned down to press his forehead against hers. “But not more than I do.”


	127. Bond

“Are we going to leave the cats indoors while your parents visit?” Allura asked, as she paused in sweeping the floor to bend down and rub under Balmera’s chin. “Do you parents like cats? We can always leave them outside for a while, I’m sure they won’t mind.”

“It should be fine,” Shiro said. He was folding laundry in the lounge room so that their washing could be put away before his parent’s arrived. The cats were doing what they usually did during the day – relaxing. Balmera was sprawled out in his cat bed, and Panther had wandered off outside to find a patch of sunlight for a few hours. “My mother likes cats, anyway.”

Allura chuckled. Balmera had started purring, and was tilting his head into Allura’s wandering fingers. “I’ll brush them first, just in case they come over to say hello,” she said. “Can’t have them making a bad impression!”

“Will they even let you brush them?” Shiro laughed. He set their folded laundry back into the basket and stood to carry it into their room. “I didn’t think cats really liked to be brushed.”

“Panther doesn’t really like it, but his fur is short anyway, so he doesn’t need much grooming,” Allura said. “Balmera is a little more lenient.”

Shiro set the basket of clothes down on their bed and straightened his back to stretch. His eyes lingered on the glass vase sitting on Allura’s bedside table. She’d picked a bouquet of white and pink flowers, and fawned over them after setting the flowers in the vase when Shiro thought she wasn’t looking. She’d put the flowers on their dining table after they’d set it.

While he knew his parents would probably like their cats, Shiro secretly thought that Allura would be the real star. She’d already picked out her clothes, and had them laid across their bed for later. He’d seen her nervously fixing her hair in the mirror a few times that day, though he knew she wasn’t worried about making a bad impression.

Sometimes, Shiro wondered if his parents would make a good enough impression. Allura’s father was wonderful, and she was very connected to him. And her mother… Shiro knew her mother must have been a wonderful woman. Would Allura be able to make a bond like that with Shiro’s own mother? He really hoped she would. 

Maybe he was the nervous one.


	128. Eager

Shiro’s mother was a strong little woman. Her hair was dark like Shiro’s, and he’d inherited her sharp features, despite having an angular jawline like his father. Ever since he was little he’d known that it was his mother who ruled the roost, though his father had always been more than content to let her take over everything.

With that thought stuck in mind, it was no surprise she was the first one to come darting up the driveway. Shiro and Allura were seated on the balcony when they heard the car pull up into the housing block’s parking lot. It didn’t take long for a knock to resound on the door, and while Allura jerked to her feet, suddenly looking quiet nervous, Shiro had her sit again so he could go and answer the door instead.

“Shiro!” His mother cried, as he opened the door to reveal her eager figure. “Oh honey, you look fantastic!”

Shiro laughed, because she’d hardly gotten a look at him before throwing her arms around his shoulders, but he still returned her hug. “It’s so good to see you,” he said, as he held her tight. He doesn’t quite remember when he'd grown so much taller than her, because she’d always seemed like a towering figure to him. Even more so when he’d been in the hospital after his amputation and so desperate to push her away.

“Where’s your father?” She huffed, as she pulled away to glance back over her shoulder. “I thought he said he’d be coming up right behind me. He didn’t get the house number wrong, did he? Wait, there he is. Over here, dear!”

“No so loud, Ma,” Shiro groaned, embarrassed. “The neighbours will complain.”

His father came wandering up the stairs and down the porch to greet them, a warm smile on his face. Shiro liked to think he was a bit more like his father than his mother – they had the same disposition, and he had certainly inherited his father’s height; somewhere along the way he’d surpassed his father too, though only by an inch. 

“Shiro, you’re looking well,” he said, as he gave Shiro a fleeting, but gentle, hug. He still wore the same cologne he’d always worn – a warm, but impressionable scent – and Shiro couldn’t help but breathe it in deeply. It reminded him sharply of his childhood, when his father would carry him to bed after he became too big and too old to be coddled by his mother. 

He’d really spent too long away from them. 

“Do you want to come in?” Shiro asked, as he pressed the door open a little wider. “Dinner isn’t too far away.”

“Of course, of course,” his mother exclaimed, as she hustled in past him. “Shiro, you just have to introduce me to Allura. Is she in the lounge room? Oh, I’m so excited.”

“She’s out on the balcony, I’ll introduce you,” he said, so that his mother wouldn’t run off and get ahead of herself. He wanted everything to be perfect; didn’t want his mother’s eagerness to startle Allura. He could already feel his own excitement building, because he just knew his parents were going to love her. 

Still not as much as he did, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, next chapter will be the meeting, I swear :') I've just had the worst week (thank you rain, for destroying all of my new work books) but hopefully it'll get better!


	129. Parents

Allura was standing by the balcony doorway, having obviously heard her name mentioned. She looked as pretty as ever – her eyes bright and blue, her hair pulled up with some sort of braid down the side, her dress smoothed down excessively by nervous hands. She seemed surprised by the sight of Shiro’s parents, but this was the first time she’d actually seen them, aside from in old photos Shiro had.

Shiro went to her side before she could fluster herself into a nervous mess, and took her hand in his to guide her in through the doorway. “Allura, these are my parents,” he said, smiling warmly as he swept a hand forwards. She gave him a thankful look before stepping forwards to extend her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said bashfully.

“The pleasure is all ours!” His mother exclaimed, as she forwent shaking Allura’s hand in favour of dragging her into a ferocious, motherly hug, the kind that felt like it could break bones. “Aren’t you just so beautiful! The pictures my son sent us doesn’t measure up.”

Allura seemed surprised to suddenly find her arms full of a small, Asian woman, but that didn’t stop her from grinning and returning the embrace. 

Shiro’s mother detached herself and held Allura at arm’s length, her hands on Allura’s shoulders. “Let me have a proper look at you,” she said. “I’m just so glad to finally meet you! Shiro never stops talking about you, you know. It’s always _Allura this_ and _Allura that._ He made me jealous for not knowing you!”

“Ma!” Shiro complained, as he ushered his fawning mother away from his girlfriend. “Stop embarrassing me and let Dad say hello.”

Allura and his father shook hands, and then Shiro somehow managed to get everyone into the lounge room. His mother still hadn’t stopped fawning over Allura, and as embarrassing as it was, Shiro still found himself swelling with pride over his beautiful partner. He was relieved that they approved of her so wholeheartedly, because even if he was an adult, their opinions mattered to him.

His mother seemed utterly enamoured with her. Shiro guessed that he had spoken about Allura quite a lot, so it made sense that she would want to get to know her as well. As long as his mother didn’t suddenly whip out any baby photos, Shiro thought he would be alright.

Of course, just because his mother didn’t have photos didn’t mean she was out of stories to tell.

“I think your mother is amusing Allura at the sake of your masculinity,” his father said, as he wondered into the kitchen to watch Shiro finish up dinner. He’d left his family and his girlfriend in the lounge room after Allura had assured him she’d be alright on her own, though he doubted his mother would be able to hold herself back.

“How bad is it?” Shiro asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Well, remember that time when you were little and you burst into tears because the waves washed away your sandcastle? Even though we told you the tide would rise?”

“Oh, I do remember that. Is she telling Allura that?”

“She’s also told her about that phase you went through when you only wore pink dungarees. And that obsession you had with butterflies.”

“Including that time when-” 

“You burst into tears because one landed on your nose and your mother took a thousand photos of you wailing? Yeah, that too.”

Shiro groaned. “Must she?”

“She must.”

Shiro sighed. He wasn’t particularly distraught over his mother telling Allura such embarrassing things, because everyone had embarrassing childhood stories. He knew Allura would find it endearing, so at least he’d get comforted in his suffering. “At least she didn’t bring the photos,” he said absentmindedly. 

“Not this time,” his father agreed, amused.

Shiro smiled to himself. He hadn’t had a proper conversation with his father in a long time – it was always his Ma who answered the phone, and while she would readily relay messages, it wasn’t the same as actually getting to hear his father’s voice. “Though I hear you’ve been doing your fair share of photo sharing,” Shiro remarked.

His father just smiled. “You snagged a real beauty.”

“I think it was the other way around,” Shiro admitted. He hesitated for a moment before asking, “So you like her then?”

“She’s lovely,” he said. “I’m glad you’ve found someone with a heart like hers.”

It was the sort of praise his father had never given Shiro before. Shiro had never really had a girlfriend he was this serious about, let alone one he’d introduce to his parents. He’d dated, but he hadn’t really loved anyone before, not like how he loved Allura. 

“You really like her a lot,” his father observed.

Shiro nodded. “She… she makes me forget that I’m not… whole. She doesn’t care about my arm or my scars and she doesn’t hesitate to hold my hand or lean on my shoulder. No one’s… no one’s ever really been like that before. It’s like…”

“She sees the real you.”

Surprised, Shiro glanced up. “It’s exactly like that,” he said. “How did you know?”

“It’s something your mother has told me before,” his father said. “We were really worried after the accident, you know. We always knew you’d draw the right people to you, but you just hated yourself so much that we feared you’d never be able to see through the past. That’s why we were so glad to hear you willingly tell us you had someone you liked.”

Shiro smiled a little, glancing away again. “I really like Allura,” he said. “I love her. I just want to make her as happy as she makes me.”

“I’m sure you do. You _are_ my son after all.”

Shiro laughed.

Dinner passed pleasantly. His mother praised his food and insisted he give her the leftovers (which he’d planned to do anyway) and Allura was more than happy to answer all the questions they had for her (where did you study? Do you like working with the kids? What’s Altea like? Shiro doesn’t slack off with the housework, does he? He always used to avoid the laundry like it was the plague when he was younger, you know).

Shiro showed his mother one of their photo albums after dinner. It was one of the ones Allura had made, and it had photos from their trip to the aquarium, both their date and the excursion. It was nice for his mother to see more photos of the kids he talked about so much, he thought.

As Shiro cleared the dishes after dinner, the house was oddly quiet. It was pleasant, and not uncomfortable – his mother and Allura were in the dining room, and his father was in the lounge room, idly flipping through the photo album now that his wife wasn’t hoarding it.

It was quiet enough that he could hear soft whispering coming from the lounge room.

“He talks about you a lot,” his mother said quietly. “I’ll ask him about his day, and he’ll start telling me about all the things you did without even realising. He’s never been so interested in another person before, aside from his friend Matt maybe, but that’s different. I’m really relieved to see that he’s got someone to take care of him when he can’t do it himself.”

“He’s a strong person,” Allura said, just as quiet. “He always tries really hard, and doesn’t like to give up.”

“Don’t I know it,” his mother chuckled. “He was the most stubborn child I’ve ever seen. But in the end I think it was a good thing he was like that.”

“I think so too.”

He wasn’t quite sure why they thought that – maybe they saw something in him he couldn’t see himself – but he thought it maybe had something to do with his accident. In differing ways, they’d both seen the extent of his injury, and how it affected him. His parents had been steadying forces after his amputation and even before it, when he’d been stuck with his useless arm, delirious with pain and misery. Allura had seen what still haunted him, and how he struggled with his scars and lingering pain. Maybe they were glad he was stubborn enough not to give up.

It was startling to think that perhaps those were the sorts of thoughts Allura had about him.

When Allura next came into the kitchen looking for fresh drinks, Shiro couldn’t help but draw her into his arms.

“Shiro?” She asked, surprised. “Are you alright?”

She didn’t know that he’d heard her, but he didn’t want to mention it in that moment. Instead he pressed his lips against her forehead and held on tightly, wondering how he’d ever gotten so lucky as to be able to hold a person like her in his arms. No matter what happened to him, or how frightened he became, or if he wanted to be a coward – she didn’t care. She never had. She let him be vulnerable and scared and weak, and she did nothing but soothe him through it and build him back up again.

For now, he didn’t say anything. She could probably tell he wanted to, could probably tell he’d been thinking hard about something, but she didn’t question him. Instead, she gave him an adorable smile, and went on her way.

He almost felt like he could collapse. She was too perfect for words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make this a little longer to make up for all the short chapters lately~ I really enjoy writing smitten Shiro haha ^^


	130. Worry

Come the start of the week, Shiro thought that it was finally time he tackled the next biggest problem on his list of things-to-fix: Keith. He almost thought that perhaps Keith had gotten over his worrying about Lance phase, but it seemed that that worry had transitioned into a strange state of possessiveness instead.

Shiro almost didn’t notice it, at first – not until that morning, when Keith bitterly guarded Lance’s attention for himself. It wasn’t anything bad, but he did stop Lance from interacting with their fellow class members, so Shiro knew it was time to step in. He had Keith join him in the office, with the door mostly closed. Coran and Allura were out supervising the kids, so he knew he had time to talk with Keith.

“Now I want you to be honest with me,” he started, as he set Keith down on his chair and pulled Allura’s closer for himself, “how are you feeling, Keith? About Lance.”

Keith’s cheeks went red. “Is this about the aquarium?” He mumbled.

Shiro nodded.

“The lake too?”

“Mhmm.”

Keith nervously fiddled with his fingers, and shrugged. 

Shiro sighed, and was silent in thought for a moment. “Alright, how about this? I want you to tell me how you felt when Lance fell into the water at the lake. Can you remember that, Keith?”

Keith shrunk into his shoulders, but he nodded. “I… it was scary,” he said. “I thought Lance was going to get hurt.”

“That’s okay, Keith,” Shiro soothed. “It’s okay if you felt like that. Do you think it was wrong to feel worried for Lance?”

Keith shook his head.

“Good. Now I want you to tell me how you felt when we were at the aquarium and Lance went up to the tank.”

“Scared,” Keith whispered.

“Do you know why you were scared?”

Keith shook his head again. He looked confused, and a little lost. 

“Did you remember the moment Lance fell in the water at the lake?” Shiro asked him. “Is that why you felt scared? Because you thought maybe it would happen again, and Lance would get hurt?”

“Yeah,” Keith admitted, looking teary. “I don’t want him to get hurt again.”

“That’s alright,” Shiro said. “It’s normal to feel that way. It means that you care about Lance very much, which will always be a good thing. You shouldn’t feel bad for worrying about him.”

“I shouldn’t?”

“No, not at all,” Shiro said. “But I do want you to know that you don’t need to worry about him as much as you do. Lance is a smart boy, and he’s a very capable swimmer. What happened to him at the lake was an accident, and it was in no means your fault.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Shiro shook his head. “As an adult, it is my responsibility to look after you kids. What happened at the lake was an accident, and it’s something that I and the other carers can learn from. Still, I don’t want you to fear that Lance will get hurt because of what happened.”

Keith glanced down. “I know it wasn’t my fault,” he whispered, “but I just want to protect Lance.”

Shiro reached for Keith, and set him on his knee. “I’m glad you told me that,” he said, “that’s very mature of you. But you must remember that Lance is his own person, and sometimes he needs to make mistakes so he can learn from them, too.”

Keith nodded. “Okay.”

“That goes for you, too,” Shiro said. “You’re allowed to make mistakes and grow from them.”

Keith nodded again. He looked a lot more at ease now. “Okay,” Keith said. “Thank you, Shiro.”

“It’s no problem,” Shiro said. He returned the small hug Keith gave him before setting Keith back down on his feet. “If you ever feel scared or upset, you can always come and talk to me, okay? No matter what.”

“I will,” Keith said. His hands lingered, balled up in Shiro’s shirt for a moment, but he eventually let go. Shiro watched him leave, and let out a relieved sigh. Keith wandered straight back over to Lance, but he didn’t stop Lance from interacting with others, and instead just let himself smoothly join the conversation. 

It was an improvement, and Shiro couldn’t be more proud of him.


	131. Attached

That afternoon, after they’d returned home, Allura asked about his conversation with Keith. She knew he’d had a talk with him, though she hadn’t interrupted, or pried into it. When he thought about it, it was kind of a private moment – Keith likely trusted him more than Allura and Coran, despite knowing them for longer.

But Allura was the owner of the business, so it was her duty to make sure the kids were healthy and happy. If she didn’t have to, she probably wouldn’t have asked about it at all, but it was an obligation she had to fulfil. In the end, Shiro didn’t mind. He wasn’t as nervous with the responsibility of the kids’ welfare anymore, but it was still reassuring to have Allura’s more experienced opinion come into play.

“I think he’s alright now,” Shiro said, as he fished out their house keys from his pocket. He’d driven them home, but they’d stopped on the way home to get bread and vegetables for dinner, so Allura was carrying the bags. “He’s really attached to Lance, huh?”

“He wasn’t always,” Allura said, sounding oddly wistful. “They used to argue a lot more than they did when you first met them. Lance really had a grudge against Keith.”

“Did he? Do you know why?” Shiro asked, surprised, as he unlocked their front door and ushered her in.

“I think it’s because Keith is smart and popular,” Allura said. “He doesn’t like to socialise much, but the others in the class sure do love him. He’s the type of kid that all the others just want to be friends with, you know? We get kids like them every now and then, though they’re usually more eager to make friends than Keith was.”

Shiro hummed. “So Lance was jealous.”

Allura nodded. “Probably.” She set down the shopping bags on the kitchen bench and bent down to pat Balmera, who had wandered over to rub against her legs, behind the ears. “I can see why he would be. Lance is much more social than Keith, he always has been. He knew Hunk before they even arrived at the kindergarten, and although Pidge is a little younger than them, he really reeled Pidge into their group. It was rather astounding to watch.”

“I can only imagine,” Shiro chuckled. He knew that Pidge was never really one to make friends on his own; he was always the type of person that other people pulled in, and if he liked them well enough, he stayed. It must have been quite surprising for Pidge to find himself face-to-face with an energetic person like Lance, though they really did get along now. Pidge and Hunk, too – though they were a match up Shiro could see a little more naturally. “I’m glad they’re so close now, though. Keith and Lance, I mean.”

“I am as well,” Allura agreed, “but I’m starting to get a little worried about what might happen if they separate. Long lasting friendships don’t usually begin in kindergarten.”

That was true. Shiro didn’t know anyone from his own days as a kindergartener, and considering Allura had been in Altea at that age, he guessed she wouldn’t, either. But he couldn’t imagine Lance and Keith ever separating, not with how attached they were to each other. Lance seemed to like Keith a lot more than a friend would, even at their age. And even if Keith didn’t feel the same, his bond with Lance was certainly quite strong.

Sometimes, Shiro even thought that perhaps Keith would come to like Lance in the same way Lance liked Keith. “I think they’ll be alright when they grow up,” he eventually murmured. “I hope they’ll be alright.”

Allura gave him a knowing look, and stood again. She put her arms around his waist, and rested her chin on his chest so that she could look up at him. “You’re really worried about them,” she said, “but they’ll be alright. Even if they don’t stay friends, it doesn’t make their friendship now any less important.”

Shiro sighed. He knew she was right, but he still felt sad thinking that one day those two wouldn’t be together anymore. “I just want them to be happy,” he said.

Allura gave him a small, comforting smile. “I know,” she said, “and they will be. I have no doubts about that at all. Their bond is so different from any other I’ve ever seen, Shiro. I don’t know what to expect about their future, but… I think they’ll stay together. Their parents are friends, they live close by one another… anyone with eyes can see that they’re very close.”

He nodded, and rested his cheek against the top of her head. “That’s true,” he whispered. Her words were very comforting, and he felt more at ease listening to her reassurances. No one had ever had that effect on him before.

“Your attachment to them is cute, too,” she mumbled.

This time, Shiro laughed properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a driving test and a test at uni tomorrow so this update is only small ahh ^____T at least they're not on my birthday, which is Thursday - I want to write something special for that, any suggestions? ^^


	132. Twinge

Allura was having a bad day. Not only was her luck seemingly against her, but the weather, her hair and even the cats seemed to be much the same. For Shiro, the day started out just like any other (waking up to Allura was always a wonder he’d never get used to) but it wasn’t so easy for Allura – not even close.

It started with the hair. She seemed to have slept rather rough, and had neglected to brush her hair after showering the precious evening. Usually dragging a brush through it while she had conditioner in was enough to tame her thick locks, but she’d forgotten, and so she woke up with tangles unlike any other. She spent a good half an hour trying to get them all out, until her brush had gotten stuck and the handle had snapped off. 

Shiro had let her borrow his brush until they could replace the broken one, but the damage had been done. Allura was never the type of person to let one bad thing ruin her day, so it hadn’t even registered to him as something that was enough to sour it mood. It hadn’t been, either. 

But then she’d accidentally stepped on Panther’s tail when he’d run under her feet. It had been an accident, and wasn’t something that usually startled the old cat, but he had been quite surprised this time, and he’d swiped at her. The cuts on her leg were barely more than a nick, but it did make her suck in a sharp breath, and then Panther was too rattled to eat breakfast. 

“Allura, I’m sure he’s not mad,” Shiro said, as he started to worry over Allura’s petulant frown.

“I hurt him, Shiro,” Allura insisted. “He must hate me.”

Then in rained. It was unexpected, and neither one of them had an umbrella as they stepped out of the car and ran towards the front awning of the kindergarten. Shiro was mostly fine, if a little wet, but Allura’s shirt was white, and her soft, pink bra was clearly visible where her shirt stuck to her skin. She had to wear Shiro’s wet sweater until her shirt dried, which was likely both uncomfortable and a little embarrassing (his sweater was clearly way too big for her, and the sleeves were too long, but it was all they had). 

“Could this day get any worse?” Allura complained, as one of the kids’ paintings slipped off the drying rack to smear glitter and paint down the front of Shiro’s sweater. She certainly sounded miserable, and looked even worse. 

“It’s alright, Allura,” Shiro tried to comfort her, but she didn’t seem any less frustrated. He wanted to ease her worries, just like she always did for him, but the right words wouldn’t come to mind. 

To make matters worse, she slipped over on the way up the stairs back into their home. The ground was still wet from the rain and she was trying to juggle her still-wet shirt and their house keys when she’d lost her grip on the staircase’s railing. She’d scraped her knee against the stairs but thankfully hadn’t fallen down them, and although Shiro was relieved, Allura was just pissed.

It really wasn’t her day.

Shiro wasn’t used to Allura being so upset. She was always positive when she could be, and never let things like this get to her. And when she was sad, he was usually able to help her. So what was different this time? Why did he feel so useless? The least he could do was try to make her feel better. She’d do that for him. 

So he made her a cup of tea, and brought it to her in the lounge room. “How are you feeling, Allura?” He asked, as he set the cup down on the coffee table. 

“How do you think?” She snapped.

He winced. He knew she was upset and that she didn’t mean to sound so snippy, but it was just… strange, to have it from her. Not unrealistic or wrong, but strange. He wanted her to be happy, but it seemed less and less likely that he would be able to do that. 

“Allura,” he started, as he reached to take her hand.

But she slapped his hand away. It certainly wasn’t a gesture she meant to do as hard as she did, but it was Shiro’s prosthetic, and the jolt it gave him made his shoulder twinge unpleasantly. The metallic sound of his hand clinking against her bracelet was almost as unpleasant.

“Shiro, I-”

“No, its fine,” he interrupted, as he drew his hand back. She didn’t mean it. Even if his shoulder hurt, he knew she didn’t mean it. “I… I made you tea. I’ll get started on dinner now, okay?”

She didn’t reply. 

He made dinner in silence, too lost in his own thoughts to wonder where he’d gone wrong. His arm was aching, and his shoulder was worse, but he didn’t dare complain. He’d been in worse pain before, and he refused to think that this pain was anything more than a slight twinge. Allura would never hurt him, not intentionally.

Maybe if he didn’t have a prosthetic, then this wouldn’t have happened.

It was with that thought in mind that he decided to retire early. He left Allura’s dinner on the counter, and went to go find her. She’d holed herself up in the study, and was hunched over her laptop. It didn’t look like she’d gotten much work done.

“I’m going to go to bed early tonight,” he said.

“Okay.”

It was almost like she didn’t hear him, but he didn’t blame her. She was too down, and that wasn’t her fault. 

He didn’t go to bed straight away. Something stopped him – his arm. He sat on the edge of the bed after changing and brushing his teeth so he could look it over. He’d ignored it all evening, but now it felt like a sore spot he couldn’t get rid of. The prosthetic was fused to what was left of his arm and shoulder, so it wasn’t like he could take if off when he wanted to get away from it. Just like his injury, he was stuck with it.

He’d never get away from it.

“Shiro?”

He jumped, not expecting his name to be called, and hid his arm behind his back. He didn’t want to be caught staring at it, but the look Allura gave him told him that that wasn’t the case. He glanced away.

“I’m… going to stay up for a little longer,” she whispered. “Goodnight.”

“Night,” he said. He watched her leave, and withdrew his arm from behind his back. It seemed even uglier.

He couldn’t sleep. Even if his shoulder wasn’t flaring up with pain every time he breathed in, he doubted he would have been able to rest. He was too used to Allura’s presence beside him, and the warmth of her skin against him. He missed her terribly, and she wasn’t even more than twenty feet away from him.

It couldn’t have been more than thirty minutes before he heard the lights being turned off in the house. Allura wandered into the bedroom a few moments later, her footsteps quiet. “Shiro, are you awake?”

He hummed. 

She slipped under the covers, and shifted over to press against his back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, as she pressed her cold hand against the back of his shoulder. It felt good. “I hurt you.”

He reached back to place his normal hand over the top of hers. “It’s alright,” he whispered back. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

“That’s no excuse,” Allura said. “I really could have hurt you, Shiro. All you did was try to make me feel better.”

He didn’t think he’d be able to convince her otherwise, so he didn’t answer. “Can you lay on my other side?” He asked instead.

She didn’t question his request, and slipped out of bed to go around the other side. That way she was in front of him, and they were pressed chest to chest. As gently as he could, he lifted his prosthetic over her waist, and let it rest there. He wouldn’t be able to sleep on it tonight, and this was his next best solution. He needed to convince himself that it was still a part of him, anyway.

“Tomorrow will be better,” he whispered.

She nodded, and held onto him tightly, her fingers clenched in his night shirt. She pressed a kiss to his lips, and he returned it as gently as he could, knowing they both felt a little fragile. “It will be,” she agreed.


	133. Oversleep

Shiro had always been an early riser, especially after his training at the Garrison. He usually went to bed early and rose early, half the time not even of his own volition. It was a routine he was comfortable with, and usually when he slept in, he found himself even more tired than he was when he went to bed. It wasn’t unpleasant, but oversleeping on a work day was a bit of a problem for him.

That’s why when he woke up the next day, tired and disoriented, he knew that he’d overslept. 

There was a pain behind his eyes that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Heat seemed to have coiled over his skin and through his blood while he’d slept, and he was covered in a sheen of uncomfortable, damp sweat. He tried to sit up, but a wash of dizziness came over him, and he was forced to lay back down with a tired, pained groan.

Sometimes, back when his prosthetic was still new and it hadn’t been more than two years since he’d gotten it, he would get a fever from the pain it caused him. The ache of it straining on his back and neck muscles would give him a headache, and his temperature would skyrocket. He’d never do anything to fix it either, because he was stubborn and irresponsible. In more recent years, when his muscles had built back up and he’d taken to a more active lifestyle, the pain and fevers had stopped.

He didn’t think a single twinge was strong enough to bring one back.

The next time he tried to sit up turned out just as badly as the first. There wasn’t much light peeking in through the closed curtains but it was enough to feel blinding. Even the quiet pitter-patter of rain on the roof was hurting his head. He almost whimpered when their bedroom door was pushed open and light from the hallway spilled in.

“Shiro, you’re awake,” Allura exhaled.

He squinted an eye open at her. She’d tied her hair up messily, and her cheeks were flushed with worry. There was a noticeable furrow in her brow that concerned him. “What…?”

“It’s alright,” she said, as she rushed to his side. She had her phone pressed to her ear, and used her free hand to urge him back. “Just rest, okay?”

“Work,” he croaked. They couldn’t be late just because he’d overslept. God, why did have to get sick?

Allura shook her head. “We’re not going to work today,” she said, as she moved hair away from his forehead. “I’ve already called my father, he’s going to step in- ah, Coran! Please, I need your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone mentioned that for my birthday, I should write something I really enjoy, so I decided to do that! Hurt/comfort is one of my favourite tropes hehe. There will be a second part to this because I was just so tired this evening, but I hope everyone had a wonderful day ^^


	134. Fever

“No, Coran, he’s not throwing up,” Allura said into the phone, her head turned away from Shiro. He watched her with blurry eyes, and tried to sit up again, but her hand on his chest kept him down. “He’s really hot.” She paused. “Yes. Yes, I know that, Coran-”

“Allura, let me up,” he whispered, as he put his hand over hers. “I just overslept, that’s all.”

She gave him an exasperated glance, and didn’t buy into his pleas. The worried frown on her face hadn’t left, either. “Alright,” she finally said to Coran, “I’ll call you if anything else happens, okay? Sorry for waking you so early this morning, too.”

After a moment she set her phone down, and leaned over to press the back of her hand against his forehead. He couldn’t help but feel that something other than his apparent fever was bothering her. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

She shook her head. “You’re sick,” she whispered. “Stop trying to get up, you silly man. You’ll make yourself feel worse.”

“But work-”

“I already told you, my father is going to cover for us today,” she told him gently. “I want you to rest up, alright? You’re really burning up, but as long as you keep your stomach contents down, Coran said you should be okay.”

 _She doesn’t know._ Shiro pursed his lips, and shut his eyes. If Allura knew that her actions had led to his fever, then she’d never forgive herself. He knew that better than he knew anything, so he wouldn’t tell her. It would be best if she thought this was just a fever like any other. In the end, it wasn’t like it was any different anyway. He’d just get a sore shoulder out of it.

“I’m going to go get you a glass of water,” Allura said. “Stay in bed, Shiro.”

“Okay, okay.”

He watched her leave until it hurt to keep his eyes open for any longer. There was pain spreading behind his eyes, and with a tired groan, he finally admitted to himself that he wouldn’t be able to go to work in this state. 

He was asleep before she entered the room again.

 

Out of all the symptoms one could experience while sick, Shiro thought he hated fevers the most. They seemed to burn through his body and linger in his head, and the sticky, sick sweat always made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. It was like the heat of the fever burned up his arm, and no matter which position he laid in, it never became any easier to bear.

Strange dreams haunted him. They had been much worse when he’d only recently received his prosthetic. He didn’t remember… remember _all_ of his accident, but he remembered enough to give him never-ending nightmares. They always involved plumes of burning smoke and flying chunks of debris and a searing pain in the arm he no longer had.

When he was alone, it was fine if he woke up screaming or crying or throwing a fist. No one was there to see him, no one was there to get hurt because of him. He could wallow in his anguish for as long as he needed to without feeling pressured to be _better._

But it was different this time. He woke up with a cry on his lips and smoke behind his eyes, and for a moment, it was like he was falling out of the sky again, suspended where no one could help him and his body could be (and would be) torn apart like a puppet on strings.

“Shiro!”

Allura’s voice brought him crashing back to the present. The heat beneath his skin had gotten worse and he was sweating all over; not even the cold face washer draped across his forehead was doing anything to cool him down. “Allura?” He croaked. He almost didn’t believe his eyes.

“It’s me,” she whispered, leaning down towards him. Her hair was still up, and she still had a worried frown on her face. How much time had passed? He couldn’t tell, the curtains were still pulled shut. “Try and calm down, Shiro. Just breathe.”

He hadn’t realised how hard he was panting until she mentioned it. Taking in deep breathes was a struggle but he managed, and eventually his chest stopped heaving. “What’s going on?”

“You’ve still got a fever,” she told him. “It’s getting worse, I called Coran again. He’s going to come over and check on you after work. Are you dizzy? Thirsty? I can get you another drink-”

“It’s fine,” he interrupted. His voice was raspy and tired, even to his own ears. “This just happens sometimes.”

Her frown deepened. “Does it?”

“When my arm gets sore,” he said without thinking. He almost felt like he was dreaming again, like he’d wake up any moment falling from the sky and Allura would just be a cruel hallucination of something he would never deserve to have for himself. “When it’s sore, it strains my body too much. Headache. Fever…”

Her eyes went stricken. “I did this,” she said, as she became teary. “I hurt you.”

“No,” he said, as he clutched at the end of her shirt. She hadn’t even changed out of her pyjamas. “No, it wasn’t your fault. It just happens.”

She wasn’t convinced. Looking pained, she stood to leave, and he panicked. 

His grip on her shirt tightened. “Don’t leave me,” he whimpered. It was so out of character for him that, he even though he was sick, he was instantly humiliated. “Please, I’ll get better-”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She untangled his fingers from her shirt, and clutched his hands in hers. Her skin was warm, and it made him notice that he was shivering, even though he felt like he was burning up. 

He could have cried in relief when she laid down beside him and tucked his head in against her chest. “It’s not your fault,” he said again, as he struggled to stay awake. “It just… it just happens. Because I lost it. My- my arm.”

She hushed him, and drove her fingers through his hair. It may have been short, but there were already knots building up from his rough sleep. “Just get some rest, Shiro,” she whispered, as she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “I’ll be here when you wake up this time, okay? I won’t leave, I promise.”

He let out another shaky breath, and didn’t beg for more reassurance. Allura wouldn’t leave him, not if he asked. It only took once. She could always tell how he felt, so why did he think now was any different? Because he was sick? Vulnerable? Trembling? It didn’t matter. When he closed his eyes and tried to focus just on the sound of her breathing, he found that he already felt more like himself. 

Somehow, it was reassuring to realise that this time, he wasn’t going to wake up with only the ghostly pain of his missing limb for company.


	135. Fault

His fever broke later that evening. While he still had a headache behind his eyes, he no longer felt uncomfortably hot, and most of his dizziness had faded away. He could hardly remember falling asleep at all, but he was feeling a lot better now than he was before.

Allura was asleep beside him, her hands bunched in the sheets, breathing soft. She looked tired, and he tried not to wake her, but when he stirred, she did too. “Shiro?” She murmured, as she rubbed at her eye. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” he said. “I need to shower.”

She laughed a little, and pushed herself upright. “Are you hungry? I can make dinner.”

“A little.”

“Alright, you go have a shower and I’ll make up something real quick.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead before she left the room. He watched her go for a moment before standing. His legs felt shaky but it wasn’t enough to hinder him, so he didn’t complain.

Having a shower made him feel a lot better. He washed his hair and his skin and let the water ease his headache. It seemed like most of his fever had passed, which left him relieved. His shoulder was sore, but that was expected, and he tried not to let it bother him. He’d become quite good at using his left hand when pain like this struck. 

Allura was in the kitchen when he emerged. She had her back to him, and on a whim, he wandered over to lean against her. He didn’t put all of his weight on her, but she didn’t complain about what he did give. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” She replied, as she glanced at him over her shoulder. “Do you still feel sick?”

“Not really,” he mumbled. “Just have a headache.”

She hummed. She was making omelettes for them, and for a few minutes, she focused on that. When they were done, she ushered him towards their dining table, where they took a seat. She got him a glass of water and had him drain it before eating, too. It made his head feel a little bit better.

“Do you often get fevers like that?” She asked.

He winced. “Not always,” he said, looking down. “I haven’t had one in ages. I get them when my back and neck muscles strain too much.”

“Was it my fault?” She whispered.

“No,” he said, his voice firm. “It’s my fault for losing it in the first place.”

“Shiro, that wasn’t your fault,” she frowned.

He sighed. She was right about that, and he knew it. It wasn’t something he even wanted to argue, because he was just being stubborn. “It just happens sometimes,” he finally said. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

She looked like she wanted to protest, but then she let out a deep breath, and she nodded. “Not anyone’s fault,” she agreed.

Suddenly, the air between them felt a little lighter. Shiro gave her a small smile, and felt his heart swell when she returned it. He hated that his arm was still causing trouble for him, but it was something that was inevitably going to happen, so he let it go. He’d just have to tackle the problems one-by-one, and hope that they never affected Allura like this again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, I just realised this fic surpassed 100k words! Thanks for sticking with me for so long ❤


	136. Brush

Allura’s hair was an utter mess the following morning. Shiro noticed it when he woke up, but he found it oddly charming. She’d stayed awake until he fell asleep the night before, just to make sure he was really okay – at least, that was what she’d said when he’d sleepily asked her about it. 

She probably wouldn’t be pleased with how tangled her hair had become during the night. She might have forgotten to brush it the previous day, what with Shiro being all sick and whiny. He didn’t want her to have yet another bad day, so while she slept, he turned off their alarms and quietly crept out of bed. She kept her hairbrush on the sink in their bathroom, so he went to get it before returning to their bed.

He was relieved that she didn’t wake when he sat down on the edge of the bed. Allura hadn’t moved from her previous position, except to turn her head more towards Shiro’s vacant pillow, something that most certainly worked in his favour.

He had to be very careful as he sectioned off a part of her hair and gently pulled the brush through it. Her nose scrunched up for a moment but she didn’t wake – she really wasn’t a morning person, and it made him laugh quietly. She must have been really tired to sleep through him brushing her hair like that, even if she was sleepy.

For the most part, he continued his little mission uninterrupted. He mostly kept to the ends of her hair, where she was less likely to wake up with a tug that might have been perhaps a little too rough. When she did wake up, however, it was a slow and sweet process, one that had her blinking and mumbling something unintelligible. “Shiro…?”

“Good morning,” he said, as he set the brush aside in favour of running his fingers through the tamed parts of her hair. He leaned down, and although he would usually kiss her forehead or cheek in this sort of situation, he kissed her lips, instead. She startled at the gentle pressure but didn’t shy away from him, and placed her hand on the back of his neck so that she could return the gesture.

“Good morning,” she said. “Were you brushing my hair? It felt nice…”

He laughed again. “I was. It’s like taming a wild beast.”

She snorted, and hid her face in her pillow. “Tell me about it. You should do it every morning.”

He smiled, and kissed the back of her head when she was too embarrassed to face him. “Maybe if you’re lucky.”


	137. Ritual

It became a sort of tradition, after the first time he did it, despite Allura’s begrudging embarrassment. Shiro could remember seeing his father brush his mother’s hair when he was a child. They’d sit in their bedroom and Shiro would push the door open just a little so that he could see into the room, and his mother would always be seated at her vanity, his father standing behind her.

In Japan, brushing one’s spouse’s hair was a very intimate gesture. Although it seemed like a mundane or everyday action, seeing his father brush his mother’s long, black hair had shown him that it could be a very affectionate moment to share. And even if Allura remained asleep for the better part of it, he was rather glad to share such a moment with her. 

She had very unique hair, he thought. It was thick and wavy, sometimes too thick to pull a brush through, though she always managed somehow. The colour was rather unique, too – not quite white, not quite silver, but a pretty mix somewhere in between the two. He could probably describe it as “starlight” and others would be able to picture its colour perfectly. The only other person he’d ever seen with the same hair colour was Alfor.

When he thought about it, she really did have quite a unique look to her. The paleness of her hair was a lovely look against her dark skin, and her bright blue eyes were truly mesmerizing. He’d never seen anyone as beautiful as her. It was a wonder to him that she had been single when they’d met, because he could imagine she’d get quite a lot of attention from people when out and about. How could others not flock to her? She was absolutely stunning.

Secretly, he was quite proud of the fact that only he got to see her when she was sleeping. That was what he was doing then – watching her sleep, as he gently pulled her hair brush through her hair. It wasn’t as tangled as when he’d first done it, but he thought that perhaps he’d become quite good at brushing long hair now that he’d done it a few times. He could feel where the knots were, and could pull them apart without Allura waking anymore.

When she did wake, it was always with a small, sweet look on her face, like she was shifting from unconsciousness to consciousness with ease. Half the time she hardly seemed like she knew what was going on, but eventually she’d feel the brush in her hair and she’d give him an exasperatedly fond look. 

“Good morning,” he whispered when she woke that morning. She sat up to press a kiss to his cheek as he set aside the brush like she often did these days. 

“Morning,” she said. After muffling a yawn into her hand she slumped against him and smiled when he ran his hands down her arms. “We’ve got a busy day ahead,” she sighed.

He’d almost forgotten. Coran had organised a sort of “sleepover” event for the kids where they could camp out at the kindergarten for a night. They had to write up and distribute permission notes and begin to prepare for the night, which in itself was a huge task. Despite the amount of work and planning it pertained, Shiro was quite excited for it. He hadn’t done anything like camping in years, not since his early Garrison training years.

“I’ll go get started on breakfast, then,” he said, as he gave her a hand to help her out of bed. He couldn’t help but think she was like a sleeping princess in the morning, and it always gave him a little moment of pleasure. She would be the prettiest princess of all, he thought. 

It was a thought that kept him preoccupied as he went to make breakfast. They really did have a long day ahead, so he was sure to be conscious of the time. Allura would have a quick shower while he cooked and then they’d eat together before leaving for work. It was their usual morning routine, though Shiro’s fascination with brushing Allura’s hair was a recently new development.

Maybe one day he’d tell her about what the Japanese believed about the little ritual, and how much he associated affection with it because of his parents. He thought that Allura might already know he liked it, but it was still a secret he’d like to share with her, eventually. Sometimes he thought that his feelings for her had developed too fast, or maybe he was thinking too much into their relationship, but he just couldn’t help himself.

Allura made him feel things that no other person had ever made him feel.

That was also something he’d keep to himself, if just for a little while longer.


	138. Approve

While Allura supervised the kids indoors, Shiro and Coran set to cleaning up the backyard area of the kindergarten. The grass needed to be trimmed and the play equipment needed to be checked and cleaned. It wasn’t a particularly hard task, and the yard wasn’t unreasonably large, so Altea Kindergarten didn’t hire out the job. They weren’t doing an extensive job either, just enough to maintain the appropriate level of safety and presentation, so it was easier for Shiro and Coran to do it themselves. 

“Help me over here for a moment, Shiro,” Coran said, as he beckoned Shiro over. He had dismantled the overhead shade that covered the play equipment so he could clean the leaves and branches off the top of it. 

Shiro helped him heave the cleaned overhead back up, and they set to work securing it. “Have you done the sleepover thing before?” Shiro asked.

Coran nodded. “Oh, quite a few times,” he said cheerfully. “We have them one or two times a year. Some kids aren’t ready to stay away from home for a night, but they all come to the afternoon activities and movies. It’s a lot of fun!”

Shiro chuckled. He really admired Coran’s enthusiasm. When it came to the kids – and consequently things that Shiro was a little worried about – Coran never wavered. He had a lot of confidence to him, and he seemed to have all the right answers. Shiro knew that Allura looked at Coran as a dear family member, and maybe he was starting to see that, as well. 

“You and Allura will be in attendance, right?” Coran said, as he heaved the last section of the shade into place. “She’s excited about it.”

“She is?” Shiro asked, surprised. Allura and he hadn’t really spoken much about the upcoming event, other than to organise it. That wasn’t particularly unusual though, so he wasn’t worried. He was a little embarrassed to think that she’d been talking about him to Coran, even if it was only to say sweet things.

“Of course!” Coran exclaimed. “Allura always enjoys the sleepover events. I think she’s excited to have you here this year, too.”

Shiro smiled to himself. He sometimes forgot about how Allura told Coran things she might not think to tell him. It was the same way he gushed to his parents or Matt about her, so he couldn’t complain. “As long as she’s happy, then I don’t mind what we do,” he said, as he fixed one of the padding wraps around the shade poles. 

Coran laughed, and gave Shiro’s back an affectionate thump. “That’s the spirit! I think she’d be pleasantly embarrassed to hear that. You two are perfect for each other.”

Shiro couldn’t help but grin. Having Coran’s approval meant just as match as having Alfor’s or his own parent’s approval. He felt at ease knowing Coran supported them.


	139. Lolly

Most of the kids decided to stay for the evening. They’d all done the same thing the previous year, with the exception of a few new students, so Coran and Allura hadn’t been too worried about kids getting homesick when Shiro mentioned it. 

After the kids had gone home for the day (they weren’t due back for activities and movies until six), Shiro began to help Coran set up for the evening. Allura would drive home to get their things while Shiro moved tables and stacked chairs away. They’d spread blankets and beanbags out in the main room and later on in the evening, they’d have the sleeping bags added to the piles, too. 

Eventually Allura returned, and they changed into more comfortable clothes. Coran was busy setting out snacks so Shiro lingered for a moment, waiting for Allura. She was brushing her hair, and somehow managed to twist it into a braid that she tied up at the end. He watched her hands carefully, but he still couldn’t work out how she did it. Maybe he could ask her to show him later.

“Everything ready?” Allura asked, as she brushed her braid back over her shoulder. “Coran didn’t try and sneak his blue disc lollies onto the plates this time, did he?”

Shiro laughed. He’d never seen those infamous lollies, but he’d heard a lot about them. Apparently Coran and Hunk had made them one afternoon when the kids were baking, before Shiro had started working at the kindergarten. Coran’s had turned out horribly, but Hunk’s had been perfect. Allura always laughed when she told him that Coran liked his lollies, even if no one else did. He always tried to make them for events.

“I think he’s managed to control himself this time,” Shiro said.

“Thank goodness for that,” Allura chuckled. “He always gets so pouty when no one eats them and I have to throw them away. Although, my father does like them, oddly enough.”

Shiro raised his brows. “Alfor does? I thought they tasted awful.”

“Oh, they do,” Allura said, as she scrunched up her nose. “Though I think that has more to do with the fact that they’re close friends rather than the lollies tasting any good.”

Shiro snorted. That definitely sounded like something Coran would do, though he could hardly picture Alfor going along with it, as well. They were rather close, though, so perhaps it wasn’t so strange. 

At six o’clock, the kids started to arrive. Many came straight in their pyjamas, their pillows tucked tightly under their arms, much to the fond exasperation of their parents. Considering Shiro was wearing comfortable clothes he’d likely sleep in, he wasn’t too fussed. The kids were all really excited, and that feeling was contagious. He couldn’t help but be swept up in their enthusiasm.

Lance and Keith came at the same time, dressed in their matching pyjamas. Hunk was next, before Mrs Holt finally dropped off Pidge, who seemed to be in quite a bright mood.

He ran straight for Shiro’s legs and grinned broadly when Shiro swept him up into his arms. 

“Pidge didn’t stay over last year,” Mrs Holt explained as Shiro settled Pidge on his hip. “But you’re staying this time, aren’t you darling?”

“Yeah,” Pidge said. He gave Shiro’s shoulder a consoling pat. “Don’t worry Shiro, I won’t cause too much trouble.”

Shiro and Mrs Holt laughed. “Alright buddy,” Shiro said, as he gently set Pidge back down on his feet, “go and find the others, okay? They’re waiting for you.”

“Okay,” Pidge said, “they better not have started without me!”

“He’ll be alright tonight, won’t he?” Shiro asked, as he watched Pidge dart inside. “He’s never really been away from home, has he?”

“He hasn’t,” Mrs Holt said, “he was too nervous to be away from home last time Allura and Coran held one of these sleepovers, but he told me he’s okay this time. He said it so convincingly that I just couldn’t help but believe him.”

Shiro gave her a puzzled look.

Mrs Holt laughed quietly. “Well, it’s because you’re here, you know! Pidge feels comfortable having a familiar adult around. Honestly, he probably sees you more as a big brother than as a teacher. Didn’t you know?”

Flushed, Shiro shook his head. “No, I never really thought of it that way.” Embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, as long as Pidge is happy, that’s all that matters.”

A gentle smile touched Mrs Holt’s face. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Her confidence in him was reassuring. The Holts had been like a second family to him when he was growing up, and he’d missed them almost as much as he missed his own parents when he and Matt went to the Garrison. 

When all the kids had been dropped off, the adults set out the activities. There were video games connected to the television, along with board games and card games and colouring. The kids had already settled in their groups, but when they were in the same room as they were, it looked like they were one big one. Coran was passing around snacks and Allura was helping the kids set up a new game, so Shiro took the juice poppers out of the fridge and began to give them out.

Once everyone had one, he went to join his kids, who were sitting on the pillows around a board game. They looked like they were already quite into it, so he simply settled beside them, content to watch. 

“I’m telling you, you have to put your piece right here,” Lance said, as he pointed to a spot on the board. “That way you can get a piece to form Voltron!”

Shiro didn’t recognise the game at first, but it looked like it was a game based off the show they all loved. Lance and Keith were leaning over the board as they took their turns, though Keith seemed puzzled by the game. Maybe they’d made teams? He wasn’t sure, but it was still fun to watch.

“Coran! Are those what I think they are?”

At the sound of Allura’s voice, he glanced up. Allura was staring across the room at Coran, who had snuck a plate covered in blue lollies out of the kitchen. 

“They’re perfect this time!” Coran exclaimed. “Try one!”

“No way!”

And there was the famous Coran-pout. _“Allura._ Just one? For your dear old uncle?”

Shiro could see Allura cracking under the pressure, even though she clearly didn’t want to taste test the lollies. It made him laugh.

“Oh, don’t you go laughing, mister,” Allura called at him. “If I have to eat them, then you’ll be eating them, too!”


	140. Sleepover

“I’m telling you,” Shiro whispered, as he glanced over his shoulder, “they’re _awful._ Don’t eat one, even if Coran gives you that pleading smile of his. Not worth it.”

Pidge snorted, and batted Shiro away. His eyes were intensely focused on the board game ahead of him; it looked like he was winning. “It’s kind of your fault,” he said.

Shiro laughed. At least the other children seemed suitably impressed by his ominous warnings. After Allura had oh so graciously shared her lollies from Coran with him, Shiro had been given a clear indication as to why Coran was not allowed to make them anymore. He’d returned to his kids defeated, and that more than anything had seemed to amuse them.

They continued to play their game in relative peace for a while. He accepted the bottle of water that Allura eventually brought over to him, and washed the taste of Coran’s bland lollies from his mouth. When Lance wandered away to get them all a handful of actual lollies, he was more than glad to eat them instead. As much as he loved Coran, the man’s cooking was either a hit or a complete miss – there wasn’t really any room for anything in between. 

There were other actives that night, ones that involved the entire class. They played pass-the-parcel, something that surprised Shiro. Coran had made the parcel without anyone else noticing, and although his wrapping of the little prizes was pretty atrocious, he’d picked out a bunch of little trinkets like bubbles, bouncy balls, and stamps that the kids adored winning. 

Although Lance had insisted he stamp his entire groups’ cheeks with his little blue sea-shell stamp, and that _had_ included Shiro. He couldn’t say no. He also couldn’t say that the ink would ever wash off, but that was a problem for tomorrow. 

It was fun to play with the children, Shiro thought. Usually during the day he was focused on supervising and teaching and cleaning, but now a lot of those responsibilities were lessened. Being in an environment like this reminded him of the school camps he used to attend, and how’d they’d spend all night playing games and hanging out. He’d never done anything like this from the adult’s point of view, and although it was a bit of a struggle to get all the kids involved, it was still quite enjoyable. 

Towards the end of the evening, after dinner had been eaten and it was clear the children were getting tired, Shiro started to set out the sleeping bags. They had blankets and extra pillows for the kids, and after they’d all chosen their spots, he took his own one closest to the door. It was only when Allura sat down next to him with a sleeping bag of her own that he realised they’d never really discussed sleeping arrangements for the night.

Officially, they hadn’t told the kids that they were together. Maybe some of them had realised or worked it out on their own, but that still didn’t change the fact that being so open about it made him a little nervous. He didn’t want the kids to think of him differently if they knew. 

“Stop worrying,” Allura said with a small smile, as she began to dig through her bag. “The kids won’t think anything if I sleep here, Shiro.”

He let out a deep breath, and nodded. He was a little more concerned with his habit of pulling Allura into his arms when he slept, but he’d just have to wait for morning to see if that happened.

“Here,” Allura said, as she pressed a hair brush into his hand. “Can you brush my hair for me?”

He flushed, but didn’t say no. He’d done it in the mornings for her to wake her up, but not at night. Considering where they were and how the atmosphere was very camp-like, the action didn’t feel out of place, so he took the brush and set to carefully unwinding her braid. Her hair was wavy from it, and still incredibly soft to the touch.

“Hey, no fair,” Lance suddenly whined, as he appeared beside them, his brush in hand. “Do mine too, Shiro!”

The abrupt request made him startle, but Lance was already clambering into his lap, and Allura was laughing. 

“Alright, alright,” Shiro relented, laughing too. He took Lance’s brush and carefully pulled it through Lance’s thin hair. Oddly enough, the motion was almost as soothing as it was when he brushed Allura’s hair. He liked brushing Lance’s hair, too.

Of course, once he’d started brushing hair, he found it impossible to stop. Keith demanded the same amount of attention as Lance and wasn’t satisfied until Shiro had tamed his dark hair, and then Hunk shyly asked for the same treatment, and then Pidge, too. He went through more than half of the class before Allura started to chip in.

Eventually it was time for the children to sleep. They brushed their teeth in the bathrooms and were given bottles of water for the night. Unsurprisingly, Lance and Keith had pushed their beds together, and were next to Hunk and Pidge. Coran was sleeping across the room so that the children had adults on either side. While they all drifted off, Shiro, Allura and Coran monitored the room, just to make sure everyone was alright. When most were asleep, they each returned to their beanbags to wait for a little while longer.

Shiro heard a rustling before he saw who it was. Pidge’s head lifted from his pillow, and his sleepy eyes scanned the room before they reached Shiro, who was quietly walking over to him before he even had to open his mouth.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Shiro whispered. 

“Nothing,” Pidge said, before hesitantly adding, “can you stay here? Just until I fall asleep…”

“Of course I can,” Shiro said. He reached for one of Pidge’s little hands and enveloped it in his own before settling down beside him. “Don’t worry Pidge, I’m right here.”

Pidge mumbled something unintelligible, and put his face back in his pillow. With a gentle hand, Shiro used his fingers to brush Pidge’s hair back away from his face. It only took a few short minutes before Pidge was just as deeply asleep as his friends, and when Shiro was sure he was truly asleep, he carefully set Pidge’s hand back down. 

Pidge was a really sweet kid. Having his trust meant more to Shiro than anything, especially considering how close he was to Matt, how close they _both_ were. Shiro knew that Pidge’s birthday was coming up, and he wanted to do something really special for him. Maybe he could ask Matt for some ideas. 

He returned to his sleeping bag and found that Allura had unzipped it so that they could use it as a blanket instead. He was surprised by Allura’s forwardness, but it was a pleasant surprise. When he laid down beside her, keeping her in between him and the kids so that he was closest to the door, she curled up against him. Usually she’d put her arm over his waist or tuck her chin under his head, but out of respect for the children and their parents, they had both decided to be a little more laid back. He didn’t mind – sometimes the softness of tentative touches was just as appealing as more casual, forward ones.

He expected to have difficulty sleeping because of the change in environment, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he was fast asleep.


	141. Pidge

They threw a party at the Kindergarten for Pidge’s birthday. All the decorations were green, and Coran had made Pidge’s favourite foods for lunch. They had a cake with Pidge’s name on it for everyone to enjoy, too. 

Shiro was happy to see Pidge enjoy himself so much. He’d already given his gift to Pidge earlier that morning when the other kids weren’t around to see – he’d bought Pidge this little puzzle gadget, one he thought would be good for Pidge to figure out when he was bored. He had been a little unsure if Pidge would like it, but Pidge had loved it, so he was quite satisfied. 

“What’s that little smile for?” Allura asked, as she snuck up behind him. “Thinking about the sleepover still?” 

Shiro groaned, and hid his face behind a hand. It had been a week since the kindergarten’s sleepover, and he was still embarrassed. Just like he’d predicted, he’d woken up with Allura trapped in his arms. He’d pulled her closer in his sleep without even realising. The kids had found it absolutely _wonderful,_ in the worst way possible for him. They never let it _go._

“I’m just happy that Pidge is enjoying his party,” Shiro said as Allura teasingly put her hands on his waist. 

Allura laughed, and squeezed her hands a little. “Makes all of your rigorous planning a real success, doesn’t it?”

“I wasn’t that fussed about it, was I?”

“Oh, you certainly were. Very fussy. The fussiest.”

_“Allura.”_

“Don’t worry Shiro, I’m just teasing,” she said, laughing again. “Your efforts are greatly appreciated by all the children, most of all Pidge. You’ve made him very happy for sure!”

Shiro couldn’t help but smile to himself. Pidge did look happy – he had a plateful of cake on his lap, and was sitting around the table with a bunch of his classmates, including Shiro’s little group. Many of the kids had given him presents, and there were a lot of green things strewn around the room. It was Pidge’s favourite colour, after all.

But that wasn’t the only surprise Shiro had for Pidge. As he checked the time again, he wondered what could be keeping his second surprise so long, but he didn’t have to wait more than another few minutes before his phone buzzed with a text message. He checked it, and grinned, much to Allura’s amusement.

“He’s here?” She asked.

Shiro nodded. “Keep the kids occupied for a moment, will you? I don’t want them noticing I’ve left.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.”

With Allura standing guard, Shiro quietly slipped out the front door of the kindergarten. He spotted the car before he saw him, and felt his grin grow wider. He lifted a hand in a wave. “Matt!”

“Hey, Shiro,” Matt said, as he threw his arm around Shiro’s shoulder – or tried to, at least. Shiro was a good deal taller (and broader) than him, but that had never stopped Matt in the past, and it certainly didn’t stop him now. “Sorry I’m late, it’s kind of hard to get away from Ma sometimes.”

Shiro snorted. “Alright, alright, let’s just go in. Pidge is going to be so surprised.”

Matt followed him in without any further delays. Shiro was sure to have him sneak in quietly, and Matt insisted on hiding right behind him, but somehow it worked out. Allura gave him a raised-brow look when he snuck Matt in, but she didn’t question him. It would all be worth it in the end.

Pidge hadn’t seemed to notice him leaving or returning. Shiro was glad to see that Pidge wasn’t deep in conversation with one of his friends. “Pidge,” he called, “I have another surprise.”

Of course, even if Shiro was broader than Matt in the shoulders, it wasn’t like his legs couldn’t be seen. When Pidge glanced over, he could clearly see his brother peeking out from behind Shiro, and his eyes went abruptly wide. 

“Matt!” Pidge cried, as he jerked upright. He was across the room in the flash, running so fast he almost stumbled before he threw himself into his big brother’s arms. “You’re here!”

Matt laughed as he scooped Pidge up into his arms. “Sure am! How could I miss my baby brother’s birthday? Happy birthday, Pidge.”

Even though he looked happy, Pidge pouted. “I’m not a baby anymore, Matt!”

“You’ll always be my baby brother,” Matt cooed, as he rubbed their cheeks together. “Even when you’re all grown up!”

Seeing the two of them together made him smile. He was so glad he’d gone through the effort of getting Matt to come. No one made Pidge happier than he did, and in some ways, it was just the same for Matt. Their bond was unlike any other than Shiro had ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday, Pidge ❤


	142. Bar

While Matt was in town, he and Shiro decided to catch up a little. It had been a long, long time since they’d spent time with just the two of them like they used to when they were younger. Shiro missed seeing his friends – the reunion he’d gotten a letter for all those months ago had been postponed due to a few of the generals being sent away for an assignment, so he hadn’t seen anyone in a while. Postponements hadn’t really happened before, but somehow Shiro was relieved.

Back then, he didn’t think he was really comfortable attending them, not even if he had Allura. Now was different – he thought he could go, and he’d be fine. Wounded pride and all. 

He and Matt went to a bar to have a few drinks and play pool. Shiro really wasn’t a bar kind of guy, and neither was Matt, but it just seemed like the thing to do in their situation. Shiro didn’t particularly mind. Alcohol always loosened Matt up, and he was pretty funny when he got rid of his brain-to-mouth filter. Even more so when he was complaining about the people at the Garrison that he didn’t like.

It was nice to relax a little. Shiro still wore a jumper to hide his arm, but it wasn’t something he was really worried about, not with Matt around as a distraction. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone out with a friend that wasn’t Allura, and as much as he adored being with her, being with his friends was a completely different environment. 

At the end of the night Allura came to pick them up. She’d offered to do that so Shiro could drink, and although he definitely wasn’t drunk, he still couldn’t drive (and neither could Matt, who was much more of a lightweight that he was despite not being all that drunk, either). Matt was going to sleep on their couch for the night so that they could all go out for breakfast the next morning. That had been Shiro’s suggestion – he wanted Matt and Allura to get know each other a little more. They’d both readily agreed to it.

All in all, he really enjoyed himself when he was with Matt. When he was sitting on the edge of their bed with Allura standing between his legs later that evening, her hands linked against the back of his neck, he felt incredibly at ease. He told her about his night and let her assumed delight encompass him. She was glad he’d enjoyed himself, too. She liked Matt. 

He couldn’t have been more relieved about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something short today because I'm quite tired ^^" I'm hitting a block with this story again, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to send them my way~


	143. Annoying

Allura got a call from her father the next Saturday. Shiro was busy brushing Balmera, or at least trying to, in an attempt to save their sofa from developing a blanket made purely of moulted cat fur. He hadn’t thought much of the phone call until Allura had let out an indignant noise.

“He’s back in the country now?” She said, as a small frown touched her face. “Why? I thought he had gone back for good this time.”

Shiro raised his brows. He’d never heard Allura sound so… _exhausted_ with a person before. It sought of made him want to laugh. Was this person a handful, then?

“I know, I know,” Allura said. She sighed, and drove her fingers through her hair. She paused for a moment as her father replied. “Wait, you’re letting him do work experience at Altea? Why? He doesn’t seem like the type to like kids at all.”

Shiro set the brush down and watched Balmera scamper off. Should he wait for Allura to finish her call or see if she wanted to pass the phone over? Sometimes she did. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll go easy on him,” Allura said with a huffy pout. “But just so we’re clear, I so do not trust him. If he makes _one_ comment out of line I’m gonna kick him to the curb.”

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh at that one. He’d heard from Coran that Allura hadn’t liked children when she was younger, but that seemed to have certainly changed now that she ran Altea Kindergarten. At times, she was more protective of the kids than he was. It made him feel good to see that, because he knew how much she loved those kids, and he knew how much they loved her, too.

When Allura hung up, it was with another tired sigh. It was all she seemed to be doing. She slumped against the kitchen bench and let out a long groan. 

“What’s going on?” He asked, as he gently rested his hand on the back of her head. “Was that Alfor on the phone?”

She nodded, and lifted herself back up. She was still pouting. “Yes. An… old associate’s son is coming to do a week of work experience at Altea starting this Monday.”

Shiro gave her a puzzled look.

She just sighed again. “Well, he’s sort of like a cousin, but we’re not related by blood. My father and his father originally had an equal share in my father’s business, but they had a falling out, so their companies are rivals now… though ours does better.”

“Is that why you don’t like them?”

“It used to be, but my father and his father have long since patched things up. They coexist, for a lack of a better word. Considering the son didn’t do anything wrong, it’s not like I have any hard feelings against him from a business sense, but… he’s just so annoying!” She threw her arms up in exasperation. “He’s a _teenager.”_

“Oh, I see.” Shiro had never really dealt with a teenager, not since he was one himself. If her associate was there to learn, it should be fine, shouldn’t it?

“Even as a kid, he’d always pull at my hair and break my things and draw all over my paperwork,” she ranted. “He just doesn’t know how to mind his own damn business. Honestly, he’s a menace, Shiro. A menace!”

It was hard to hide his laughter. “Alright, alright, I get it,” he said, as he enveloped her hands in his. “It will only be for a week, won’t it? I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

She groaned, and thumped her forehead against his chest. “Your positivity is a menace sometimes, too,” she said, though it wasn’t a cold comment. If anything, she just sounded amused. “Completely contagious.”

He snorted, but was oddly touched. He hadn’t thought his words could reach her like that, but he would be sure to remember that they could. “Anyway,” he said, “what’s his name?”

“Lotor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't originally planned to include Lotor in this just because I don't know his character and I struggle to find a place for him to fit in the kindergarten dynamic, but since quite a few people have asked about him, I thought I'd give it a go. After seeing his mock reveal, I have a feeling I'm going to like him lol


	144. Week

Lotor was not what Shiro expected, to say the least. He arrived promptly and perfectly on time, and wore appropriate (if a little expensive looking) clothing and shoes. His hair was long and lustrous, and almost the same silvery colour as Allura’s, though much darker. He was only sixteen, but he had quite a beautiful face, and he certainly seemed like he knew it. 

“Oh, you must be the new beau I’ve heard so much about,” Lotor said, as he reached out to shake Shiro’s hand quite confidently. “Only good things, I assure you. I look forward to working with you this week.”

“Uh, sure,” Shiro said, a little surprised. He hadn’t expected a teenager to speak so eloquently, let alone act so confidentially in a new environment. “It’s nice to meet you, Lotor.”

For what it was worth, Lotor did seem interested in something other than teasing Allura (which he did. Excessively). His taunting expressions lightened around the children, and the smiles he gave them were pretty honest. Although the kids seemed wary around him for the morning, his jovial nature eventually won them over. Shiro was a little relieved about that. 

All of the kids at the kindergarten were quite unique. They all had their own quirks and talents and noticeable traits, and Shiro wasn’t surprised that Lotor seemed to enjoy figuring out what they were. Everyone did. The kids were very sweet, and very likeable. If he were being honest, he didn’t expect anything less, even if Allura was a little wary about her cousin working at Altea. 

What Shiro hadn't expected, however, was for Lotor to take an interest in one specific child. He wasn’t sure if it was because he got along with them very well or if he saw a bond he wanted in on, but… 

Well, Keith had some competition, it seemed.

Lotor just adored Lance. Shiro had never seen anything like it. “Allura, look at this darling’s eyes!” He’d exclaimed, as he’d scooped Lance right up into his arms. “They’re so much bluer than yours! Isn’t he just precious?”

It was no secret that Lance liked attention, and all kids loved to have the favour of someone older than them. He had no problem being carried around and spoiled by Lotor all day. It wasn’t like Shiro could tell him to stop either, because he was still doing his job quite spectacularly. 

But Keith certainly wasn’t pleased. He followed Lance around all day, pouting and grumpy. He wasn’t used to having Lance give so much attention to someone else, let alone someone else taking Lance from him. As much as Shiro appreciated Lotor’s work ethic, he really did worry for Keith. It was usually obvious to everyone how close Keith and Lance were, and even if Shiro was spending time with one of them, he never impeded on their friendship like Lotor was. 

Eventually Keith got tired of chasing after Lotor and instead glued himself to Shiro’s side. As much as Shiro enjoyed Keith’s company, it was hard to work with a kid clutching at his leg, and more than once he’d had to loosen Keith’s hands from his shirt to stop it from stretching. 

“It’s only for a week, buddy,” Shiro said, as he finally gave in and hauled Keith up into his arms. Keith’s hands grabbed a tight hold on his shirt, and Shiro laughed weakly. He definitely wasn’t going to be able to put the kid down any time soon. “Don’t you want to play with Pidge or Hunk?”

Keith shook his head, and shoved his face into the crook of Shiro’s neck. He let out an incoherent groan. “Lance is _my_ friend,” he mumbled, only loud enough for Shiro to hear. “I don’t like Lotor.”

Shiro rubbed his back. He didn’t quite know what to say to that. There was no doubt in his mind that Keith was jealous of Lance’s interest in Lotor, but he didn’t believe that Lance would just ditch Keith for the teen. He thought that perhaps Lance was just unused to the type of attention that an older, unrelated teen could give him. “Just a week,” he told Keith again. 

Keith just huffed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm going to have a lot of fun with Lotor for a week haha


	145. Friendly

“Wow! You could totally be an artist when you grow up,” Lotor said, grinning widely as he watched Lance draw. They were seated at a table with Hunk, Pidge, and a few of the other children, and while Lotor gave them all a decent amount of attention, he still seemed enamoured with Lance. 

“Really?” Lance asked, eyes wide and bright. “My older brother says I’m really bad at drawing, though.”

“No way!” Lotor shook his head. “You’re brilliant. Don’t listen to him, Lance.”

“What do you think of my drawing, Mr Lotor?” One of the little girls at their table asked, as she held up her picture.

Lotor clapped his hands together. “Why, it’s positively brilliant, too! Tell me, are you going to become an artist when you grow up, as well? You definitely could!”

She giggled.

Shiro sighed. Lotor certainly was quite talented at communicating with children; there was no doubt he had an affinity for it. Almost all of the kids loved him, and because he was new and friendly, they clamoured for his attention. Half the time Lance seemed quite surprised about the fact that he was the one Lotor was smothering in attention. In fact, Shiro was quite surprised by it, too.

“You seem to have made a good connection with Lance,” Shiro remarked, as he helped Lotor learn how to file their daily paperwork (Allura was meant to show him, but she stubbornly refused). It was the boring part of the job, and although Lotor was clearly uninterested in it, he got through it pretty quickly and effectively. 

“I know, right?” Lotor said. “He’s just the cutest kid I’ve ever seen.”

“Is that why you like him so much?”

Lotor hummed. “Are you trying to sneak into my head, Mr Shirogane?”

Although the teen had only been there for a day, Shiro had already gotten used to his snarky humour. He knew better than to get defensive over Lotor’s little quips. “No, I’m just curious,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not good to favour certain kids over others.”

“I know,” Lotor said. After a quiet moment, he relented. “I’ll be more careful.”

“Don’t worry,” Shiro reassured him, “I think you’re doing well so far. Though… maybe lay off Allura a little.”

Lotor laughed. “It’s so fun to rile her up, but alright.”

As docile as Lotor seemed, Shiro knew that he couldn’t help himself. He still liked Lance the most, and still harboured most of Lance’s attention for himself. It was all innocent of course, and mostly light hearted, but it was certainly irritating Keith. He looked lonely without Lance, and although he’d tried valiantly to stick to Lance’s side in the morning, Lotor had swept Lance away like he was a Disney Prince.

Honestly, Shiro didn’t know what to think. Lotor wasn’t doing anything wrong, but he didn’t want Keith to be upset anymore, either. Maybe Keith would overcome his aversion to Lotor as the week went on, or Lance would start to miss him, and it would turn out that Shiro had absolutely nothing to worry over.

He’d have to see how it went.


	146. Reliable

“You’re not really enjoying having Lotor around much, are you?”

Allura sighed, and spun around in her chair to face him. “Is it that obvious?”

“A little. I don’t think he’s notice that much, though.”

“Isn’t he just… annoying?” She asked with a frown. “He’s always cracking jokes, and he doesn’t take things seriously. Plus he’s upsetting Keith, isn’t he?”

“I think it’s unintentional,” Shiro said, hesitant. He didn’t want to upset Allura even more, but he didn’t want to throw Lotor under the bus. “He is a bit talkative, but he’s a good kid, isn’t he?”

She sighed again, and rested her chin in her hand. They’d come to work early that morning to catch up on work, and they were the first people there. Soon Coran and Lotor would arrived, shortly followed by the children. “He could be worse,” Allura conceded. “Is Keith alright, though? He’s been quiet lately.”

“He’s really attached to Lance,” Shiro admired. “I think he misses him. He’s not used to Lance getting so much attention from someone other than him or perhaps me.”

Allura chuckled a little. “Well, he doesn’t have to compete with you for Lance’s attention, because you give the same amount to all the kids. Maybe not at the same time, but they all know they can come to you. Lotor is just a shiny new toy for them to marvel at.”

Shiro laughed quietly. “He really riles you up, huh? Come here.”

Allura stood, and although Shiro was still seated in his office chair, she collapsed against him. He put his arms around her waist and rubbed her back, slowly feeling the tension leave her. “I’m just wary about him,” Allura said. “He hasn’t always been so nice, though his sense of humour hasn’t changed much. I was worried he might cause conflict between the kids, even if it is unintentional. Have you mentioned it to him?”

“I have.”

She sighed again. “Maybe he’ll get the message.”

Shiro shrugged. “He’s just a kid himself, who’s to say what part of it he actually listens to? It’s only for a week.”

“Longest week of my life.”

He laughed. “Longer for Keith.”

She laughed, too. “Perhaps that’s true.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Shiro said. “Maybe I can get Lotor to pay attention to some of the other kids. We’re doing arts and crafts this afternoon, right? They love that.”

Allura nodded. “Alright, I’ll leave it to you. But I’m still serious about what I told my father. Lotor knows I don’t like him all that much, and even if I do know him, I won’t put up with any misbehaviour at work. If he pushes the boundaries too much or disrupts the children’s learning I’ll have to get him to leave.”

“Okay.”

It was a reasonable thing, he thought, but he had a feeling Lotor would still be around for the week. He was a quick learner and eager to get along with the kids, even if he did favour Lance a little. Shiro hoped that the new and shiny feeling Allura mentioned was what Lotor was experiencing too, and that after a few days he’d settled into work a little more smoothly. Teenagers were hard to predict, though, so maybe he’d be wrong.

But they did have a few activities planned for the day, so at least Shiro would be able to put Keith back with Lance for a while. Keith had become quite quiet and it was worrying, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions. In some ways, they were all just kids trying to get along in a new dynamic. He expected a few ruffled feathers.

“Don’t worry too much about it, Princess,” he said, as he pulled Allura down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll figure it out.”

She hummed, and leaned against him. “I know,” she whispered. “You’re very reliable. I’m just… I’m not happy to have Lotor here. His father did some awful things to mine, things I was alive to see – but Lotor wasn’t. He doesn’t understand the past bad blood between them because he didn’t see it firsthand, but I did. Even if they’re acquaintances now, it’s still off putting for me to see. I’ll be relieved when this week is finally over.”

“I know, you don’t need to justify yourself to me,” he soothed, as he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her forehead. “I’ve got it covered.”


	147. Thing

Shiro had Keith sit next to Lance at the arts and crafts table. He waited until Lotor was busy helping Allura set up the tables (a move willingly orchestrated by Allura, who was far too happy about making her cousin do all the hard work while she got to boss him around) before carrying Keith straight over. Keith had been stuck to his hip all day, hadn’t even tried to fight Lotor for Lance’s attention. 

Keith seemed rather surprised to find himself suddenly by his best friend’s side. He looked up at Shiro with wide eyes, before grinning. Shiro just ruffled his hair.

As much as he admired Lotor’s skills with the children, he was definitely on Team Keith.

(That was also something Allura had orchestrated.)

“Do you have everything you need?” He asked the table, as he leaned over the back of Keith’s chair. “Have enough paint? Brushes?”

“We’re all good,” Hunk said, as he waved a brush with a smile on his face. “Thank you, Mr Shiro.”

“It’s no problem, Hunk,” Shiro said. “Call me if you need anything, right?”

After receiving a round of nods, he ventured off to check on the other tables. They’d gotten all sorts of crafting materials today, from feathers and buttons and glitter to coloured paper and shaped hole-punchers. He had no idea what the kids would do with any of it, but they always loved arts and crafts time, so he just let them be and topped up their supplies when needed.

His little plan seemed to work for a while. Keith stuck to Lance’s side, and they both shared their materials with each other. Shiro had no idea what they were making, but they were using a lot of red and blue, so he knew it would be fine. Keith was definitely more relaxed with Lance around, and much louder. It made Shiro happy to see.

Eventually Allura could no longer keep Lotor occupied, and without any setting up to do, he started supervising. Shiro watched him out of the corner of his eye, and wasn’t surprised when Lotor started to monitor the kids at every table. He was good with them, and had a good sense for what to do. Still, after a few moments, he gravitated towards Lance’s table and sat himself down beside Lance.

“How’s everything going?” He asked, as he peered at Lance’s project. “Wow!”

Lance grinned, and proudly showed off his work. “Do you like it? I did it all myself!”

“It’s fantastic!” Lotor said, smiling pleasantly. “Can I help out?”

“Sure,” Lance said, as he handed Lotor the brush he was using. “Make it bluer!”

Lotor chuckled. “Wouldn’t another colour be lovely, too?” He said, as he reached for the purple paint. “How about this?”

Lance looked hesitant. He was making something matching Keith’s red like he always did, and another colour would change that. Still, he seemed enamoured by Lotor’s attention, so he nodded. “Okay…”

Keith looked crushed. He lowered his brush and turned his head away, eyes downcast. Shiro lurched upright from his spot against the wall, feeling his chest tighten at that miserable look, but then Keith looked up again. “Can mine have purple too?” He asked, hesitant. “So we can match…”

“Of course,” Lotor said, as he offered Keith the brush with purple paint he’d used to decorate Lance’s piece, “here you go.”

Keith reluctantly tried to copy what Lotor had done to Lance’s piece, but his hands weren’t as steady, and they didn’t look the same. He couldn’t have been more miserable. 

Shiro hated seeing him like that, so he ventured over to the table too, and took a seat beside Keith. “Looking good, buddy,” he said, as he put his hand on Keith’s back. “Want some help?”

Keith gave him a grateful look, and passed over his project. Even with his prosthetic Shiro had a steady hand, and at Keith’s quiet instructors, he took to painting whatever it was that Keith wanted. Okay, so maybe his plan wasn’t working out so well yet, but at least Lance seemed interested in Keith’s work now. When Shiro was done with it, he handed it back to Keith, who set to painting again.

“Yours is really good, Keith!” Lance said, grinning that signature grin of his again. “Can you help me with mine, too?”

Keith’s eyes lit up. “You need more blue!” He said with a small smile. 

“More blue?” Lotor asked.

Shiro gave him a pointed look, one Lotor returned with a puzzled tilt of his head. “How about we leave them to it and get back to work?” Shiro suggested, though it wasn’t really a question. Lotor followed him without issue, clearly curious. “Those kids have a _thing_ with colours,” Shiro finally explained, when they’d moved away. “Especially Lance and Keith. It’s best to let them do what they want. We wouldn’t want to stifle their creativity, or anything.”

“Oh! I see,” Lotor said, nodding. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Shiro was glad to see that Lotor understood. When he was alone, he let out a sigh, and leaned against the kitchen counter to watch the room. The kitchen was separated from the living room by a wall, but there was a huge cut out that connected the bench to a bench inside the kitchen. It was where Coran usually left food to be distributed, but it was a good spot for supervising everyone, too. 

He was starting to see why Allura had said Lotor was such a handful. His opinion didn’t really have anything to do with their bad history, but more so due to the fact that Lotor was still a teen and he was still learning. He felt like Lotor was hard to keep up with, sometimes. Especially when it came to Lance and Keith.

“Told you,” Allura said, as she breezed into the kitchen past him.

He laughed quietly. At least with Shiro so preoccupied with Lotor, Allura was free to avoid him all she wanted. Only a few more days to go.


	148. Interesting

“You guys aren’t very lovey-dovey with each other,” Lotor said, as he rested his chin in his hand.

Shiro sighed quietly. The teen had been following him around all day, far more than he usually did. Shiro was starting to think that maybe Allura had done something positively evil, but even she seemed miffed by Lotor’s newfound fascination with him. “We are at work,” Shiro pointed out, as he gave Lotor a meaningful look. “It’s a little uncomfortable to act like a couple around the children. We’re meant to be looking after them.”

“Oh, that’s true,” Lotor said, nodding like he’d just been told the answer to life. He had a look on his face that was becoming surprisingly familiar. Shiro didn’t know what to think of it, but from Allura’s frequent glances over at them, he wondered if it meant trouble for him. “So how did you and my dearest cousin meet?”

Shiro resisted the urge to correct Lotor on the matter of Allura not _actually_ being related by blood to him. “We met here, when I first started working,” he said. “Why?”

“Curious.”

He sighed again. “Are you usually this interested in Allura’s life?”

“She’s usually not this interesting.”

He wondered how many times he could get away with sighing within an hour. “I think she’s incredibly interesting,” he said.

“Well, you are seeing her,” Lotor said. “I’ve never met any of Allura’s boyfriends before. I don’t even know if she’s had any. This is an intriguing experience for me, you know.”

Shiro forced a weak laugh.

“Have you met Alfor? Her father,” Lotor said. “He’s a little frightening.”

“I’ve met him,” Shiro said. “I didn’t think he was frightening. He’s a good man.”

Lotor hummed. He was watching Shiro file paperwork so he could learn, but Shiro thought they both knew that Lotor had already gotten the process down perfectly. He really was a quick learner, but it was standard to have one of the supervisors do it so the work experience kid could see how it was done professionally. It seemed like a bit of a waste of time, but that was only because Lotor was so perceptive. 

“Can you show me how to make the meal plans next?” Lotor asked.

“Ah, that’s something Coran is more in charge of,” he said, as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Allura and I just make sure he hasn’t put anything too crazy on it.”

“Yeah, but Coran is… odd,” Lotor said, as a frown touched his face. “He’s like that one weird Uncle every family always has. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a kind man, but did you know he had me eating all these weird blue lollies when our fathers had a business meeting together? They were awful, but it wasn’t like I could say no.”

Shiro snorted. “Yes, he’s tried to give us the same thing,” he said. “He means well.”

“Will you show me then?” Lotor asked again.

“Alright,” Shiro sighed. There he went again, sighing for what felt like the tenth time in ten minutes. “But if Coran pouts, I’m blaming you.”

Lotor laughed quietly. “Alright.”

It was strange to have Lotor follow him around all day. Sure, the teen had done similar things the last three days, but this felt different. He could feel Lotor watching him keenly, like he was studying what Shiro was doing. Perhaps he was.

“Maybe he likes you,” Allura muttered, when they had a rare moment to themselves during their lunch break.

“No, it’s not that,” Shiro said, shaking his head. There was no doubt in his mind that that wasn’t the case. “But I don’t know what it is, exactly. I just feel like he’s watching me carefully.”

Allura hummed, thoughtful. “Well, you are rather close with the kid he likes the best,” she said. “And you always give him… _advice_ about that little group. Maybe he wants to know why those kids love you so much. Or maybe he’s already figured it out, and joined the party. Even if there’s more than ten years between him and the children, he is still a child himself. He might see you as a mentor of some sort.”

For all that Allura disliked Lotor, she really did seem to understand him. Her theories seemed to make a lot of sense, even if they did seem a tad jaded. It made him want to laugh. Allura’s petulance was adorable, because it wasn’t really spiteful. He’d be sure to tease her about this for at least the next year.

“Oh look, your newest fan is coming over,” Allura said. It was like she could sense he was doing to tease her, and jumped at the chance to do it herself instead. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Allura,” he hissed, but she was already flittering away, smothering her laughter behind a hand. Sure enough, Lotor appeared a moment later, with a bright and eager smile on his face.

“Mr. Shirogane!”


	149. Agent

“Up we go,” Shiro said, as he heaved Lance up into his arms with an exaggerated groan. “We’ve got to have a talk, mister.”

Lance pouted at him. “But I want to go play with the others,” he said. He had his blue lion clutched in his arms, and a hat sat ready on his head for outdoors activities. All of his friends had ventured outside by now, but with a moment to spare, Shiro had scooped him up. No one else was inside anymore – including Lotor, who Shiro had managed to shake in the chaos of applying sunscreen, tying shoelaces and fixing hats on heads.

“I know, I know," Shiro said, “but you wouldn’t say no to me, right?”

Lance opened his mouth, but shut it with a huff that had his cheeks puffing out. 

Shiro laughed. “Don’t worry buddy, it’s nothing bad,” he said, as he set Lance down on one of the tables. “I just want to talk to you about Keith.”

A confused frown furrowed Lance’s brow. “Keith? What’s wrong with Keith?”

“Nothing is wrong with Keith,” Shiro said. He crouched down so that he was eye-level with Lance. “Do you think Keith has been a little quiet lately? Maybe a little sad?”

Lance put a hand to his chin and hummed in thought. “Well, maybe,” he conceded after a moment. “Is Keith okay?”

“I think he is a little sad,” Shiro said. He didn’t want to worry Lance, but he did want to point out Keith’s feelings. He thought that this was the best way to do it. “Do you have any idea why?”

Lance shook his head.

“I want to make Keith happier again,” Shiro said. “Do you think you can help me do that? Like our own secret mission.”

Lance’s eyes lit up. “Oh, oh! I can do that!” He said, nodding. “I can be the boss and you can be the secret agent! Wait, no. You be the boss, and I’ll be the secret agent, I think I’ll be better at that.”

Shiro laughed again. “Good idea, buddy. Now, I have a plan in mind. Do you want to hear what it is?”

“Yeah, tell me.”

“Alright,” Shiro said, lowering his voice to a quiet whisper, “first we need to locate the target.”

“You mean Keith?”

“You’re already on the mark! Are you sure you’re not really a secret agent, Lance?”

Lance giggled. “I’m not, I swear.”

Shiro smiled. “Alright, so the plan is to locate the target – Keith – and make him happy again. You know what he likes best, right? I’ll have to trust you do try your very hardest to make the target happy again.”

“I can do it,” Lance said, determined. “I know Keith the best. But what are you going to do?”

“I have some plans of my own,” Shiro said, as he ruffled Lance’s hair. “Top secret.”


	150. Cherries

It started with cherries. Keith loved them, though Shiro thought that had something more to do with their colour than their taste. Red was Keith’s favourite colour, after all. Shiro had a bowl of cherries prepared, among other platters of fruit, for the kids to snack on that afternoon. He planned to have Lance take the cherries, though, just for Keith. 

“What are you up to?” Allura asked, one eyebrow raised as she leaned across the counter to watch him. He was on afternoon tea duty while Coran supervised the children with Allura and Lotor. Shiro only had to slice the watermelon and the apples before the food would be ready to serve and eat.

“Nothing, nothing!” Shiro said. 

Allura snorted. “I can tell when you’re up to something, you get this weird little smile on your face- there it is, right there.”

“I’m not smiling.”

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re smiling right now.”

Shiro tried to set his face straight because, just like usual, she was right.

Allura burst out into laughter. “Honestly, I don’t mind what you’re up to,” she said. “Whatever it is has Lotor stuck with Coran, and it’s hilarious. He thinks that Lotor loves his blue lollies! I’ve given Coran permission to make as many as he wants for him.”

“Oh no,” Shiro laughed. “That’s mean.”

“Lotor certainly didn’t seem pleased. Serves him right for teasing me all week.”

Shiro laughed again. “Alright, alright, get back to work, you. I have a horde of hungry children to feed.”

She laughed across the counter to press a small kiss to his lips. “Alright, I’ll get back to it. Save me some watermelon?”

“Of course.”

For what it was worth, Keith seemed rather surprised that Lance was giving him such a treat when Lance carried the cherries over. “Cherries are my favourite,” he said, as he took the bowl from Lance.

“I know!” Lance said with a bright grin. “They’re just for you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Keith gave Lance a small smile, and offered the bowl to him. “Want to eat them with me?”

Shiro knew that Lance didn’t really like cherries, but he still sat down beside Keith and took him up on the offer. It made Shiro smile to see Keith look a little more upbeat. All of the kids enjoyed the fruit, but Shiro liked to think no one enjoyed it more than Keith did. Keith just liked _Lance._ He really had missed Lance, huh? It made Shiro think that they would never be apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, I didn't realise I was at 150 chapters already :') I wanted to do something special for it ahh


	151. Protect

Their “secret mission” went pretty smoothly after they started it off well. As the end of the week drew near and Lance continued to spoil Keith, Keith started to smile more. Little by little he returned to his usual attitude, and that was more than Shiro could have hoped for.

At the end of the week, to celebrate Lotor completing his work experience, they had a water fight. Shiro suggested it, and Allura agreed to it because she knew that Lotor did not like to get his hair wet, but Shiro had no doubt the kids would love it more than Lotor hated it. In fact, even Lotor seemed excited by the prospect of it. The air outside was getting much colder with winter around the corner, but that Friday seemed uncharacteristically warm. It was a perfect day for a water fight.

It was amusing to see Lance act out his secret agent role. His board shorts and shirt became his secret agent suit, and the water gun became his weapon. He spent the entire day diving in front of shots to “save” Keith, and although he ended up completely drenched by the time the afternoon rolled around, he had a grin bigger than any other Shiro had ever seen stuck on his face.

When the kids were coming back inside after their supplies for the water fight had been exhausted, Shiro set to helping them dry off. He saw Allura snag Lance at the door, determined to stop his dripping from getting onto the floor inside. With Lance being taken care of, Shiro worked on Keith. Although he certainly hadn’t gotten as wet as his friends, it would do no good if he caught a cold from having damp hair.

“Did you have fun today?” Shiro asked, as he rubbed a towel through Keith’s dark locks.

“Yeah,” Keith said, nodding. “Water fights are fun.”

“You’re very good at them.”

“Lance was helping me,” Keith smiled, as he grabbed at Shiro’s hand. “He was really nice to me today.”

“Oh?” Shiro’s hands stilled.

“Yeah! And yesterday, too. He carried my jacket for me when I forgot, and went to get my plate at lunch. And he painted me a picture I got to keep.”

“Wow,” Shiro said, “Lance made you very happy.”

“Mhmm!” Keith nodded. “Lance is really funny.”

Shiro chuckled, and continued to dry Keith’s hair. “I’m glad you had fun, buddy,” he said. “Lance looked like he had a lot of fun, too.”

“He was protecting me.”

“I saw, I saw. That’s what best friends do.”

Keith hide a smile to himself, but Shiro saw it anyway. It wasn’t often that Keith so visibly displayed his happiness, and Shiro was all the more glad for it. Lately Keith seemed unafraid to smile and laugh loudly, and that was something that could never be faulted. 

Maybe all Keith needed to be happy around others and with himself was Lance.


	152. Teacher

At the end of the day after all the kids had been dried off from the water fight, Coran brought out a celebratory cake with candles for Lotor. It came with a complimentary container stuffed full of Coran’s blue disc lollies, and every single one of them was just for the teen to exclusively enjoy. He was, of course, appropriately thrilled – on the outside. Shiro didn’t need to see Allura’s muffled snorts to know that Lotor was less than impressed.

While Lotor blew out his candles and listened to Allura rattle off a painfully bland speech about his achievements, Shiro finished signing Lotor’s paperwork and certificate. When that was done he brought everything out of the office and had Allura present it to Lotor as the manager of Altea Kindergarten. All the kids clapped, even if they didn’t quite understand exactly what was going on.

After everyone had been given their share of cake, Shiro included, they took their seats around the dining tables and began to chat. Shiro was with Allura of course, but Lotor came to join them, too.

“Did you enjoy your time here?” Shiro asked, as Lotor pulled a chair closer. 

Lotor nodded. “Very much,” he said. “The kids are quiet well-mannered most of the time. I expected them to be more… chaotic. Or messy, at least.”

Shiro laughed a little. “They are very sweet,” he agreed. “We have a good class here.”

“Mmm… good teachers often have that effect on children, I’ve heard. Even you aren’t so bad, cousin.”

Allura gave him a flat look. Lotor’s words didn’t sound much like a compliment, but he was smiling in that amused way of his that meant it wasn’t an insult, either. How he somehow managed to find a middle ground in between the two was beyond Shiro.

“Maybe after I’ve graduated I can come work here,” Lotor said, as he rested his chin in his hand. He didn’t sound serious, but everything he said carried a note of truth to it, so Shiro wouldn’t have been surprised if he really did show up again in a few years. Then again, he wouldn’t have been surprised if Lotor didn’t, either.

“Do you want to work in childcare?” Shiro asked. He knew that Lotor’s father had a huge company, and he sort of expected that perhaps Lotor would have to take over it, one day. It was almost the same for Allura, though she’d taken over her mother’s business instead. 

“Maybe,” Lotor said. “I’m keeping my options open, for now. I might go into my father’s business.”

“It’s good to have more than one option,” Allura said. Shiro was surprised to hear her offer advice like that, but he always knew she couldn’t help herself when it came to helping others, especially with children. Even if she found Lotor annoying, she wouldn’t do anything detrimental to his future, and she’d aid him in any way she was able to. 

“If I did come back here, you could be my mentor,” Lotor said, as he turned to look at Shiro. “You’d be a perfect mentor for me, you know. Wouldn’t it be great? There’s no one better to learn from.”

Shiro felt flattered by Lotor’s compliments, but didn’t know how to answer him. He’d been the mentor for a lot of younger cadets when he was in the Garrison, but that was different. He knew he’d been good at his job back then – at the top of all his classes. Here felt a little different. Although he was good at his job, wouldn’t it make more sense to ask one of the two more experienced workers? Lotor really was quite the strange child.

“That’s enough of that, Shiro is too busy with our kids here to look after another one,” Allura said. “Who’s to say you’ll want to work in childcare once you graduate?”

“That’s true,” Lotor said. His eyes spoke of his amusement – maybe he thought Allura was jealous that he was giving Shiro attention. Maybe she was jealous. Shiro just couldn’t get a read on him, not even after spending an entire week with him. Even Allura seemed to be a bit of an enigma when she was around Lotor. “Aren’t you going to miss me when I’m not here, Allura?”

“No.”

“Not even a little?”

“Nope.”

“So cold,” Lotor sighed. “How did you ever manage to snag a boyfriend? I’ll never know.”

Allura huffed, but Lotor’s teasing just made Shiro laugh. It was clear that they’d known each other for a while. 

Still, he thought he might be a little sad to see Lotor go. His energy was quite different to theirs, and the way he made the kids behave was different. It was nice to have a change for a while… though he would be glad to see Keith’s jealous loneliness leave. At least he wouldn’t have competition for Lance’s attention anymore. In the long run it was probably good for Keith to learn that he wouldn’t always have all of Lance’s attention for himself, but Shiro still didn’t like to see it.

If he could have, he would have kept all the kids in the safe, comforting space of Altea Kindergarten for as long as possible, if just to see them continue to smile.


	153. Easter

For Easter morning, Shiro made sure to wake up half an hour early. He hadn’t celebrated Easter with chocolate eggs since he was a child, but the Garrison officers had always given their cadets some, so he found it to be a pleasant holiday. 

He’d bought Allura a bunch of chocolate eggs for Easter, just because he could. She liked to eat chocolate, and now they’d have something to share when they curled up on the couch together that evening. Maybe it was a little childish of him, but he wanted to hide them. He’d bought her a bottle of her favourite perfume (also just because he could) and he’d hide that amongst the chocolate eggs, too. 

His lovely girlfriend, as the definitely-not morning person she was, didn’t wake up when he snuck out of bed. She’d probably become used to him rising earlier than her by now. He hid most of the chocolate eggs behind the television, in cabinets and under their couch cushions. He even put one under their coffee table, one in the sink, and then finally a bunch hidden in this little nest thing one set of eggs had come with high on top of the fridge with the perfume box. Maybe he was being a little cruel when he hid something high enough that Allura couldn’t reach, but he’d get to pick her up if he did, right? It was a win-win, in his books.

Allura was rather surprised by the egg hunt when she woke up. She’d laughed when Shiro had explained it to her, but her eagerness distracted him more than his embarrassment did. She’d escaped from the bedroom to search for the eggs before he’d even finished brushing her hair, like he often did when she woke up, now.

“Ah, I found some!” She called. He hadn’t even set her hairbrush down then.

“Keep looking!” Shiro replied, laughing. “There’s a present hidden in amongst them somewhere.”

“A present? For me?”

“No, for Balmera.”

She snorted. “You’re a funny man, Shiro.”

He laughed again. As he heard Allura rustling around in their home, he continued getting ready for the day. They’d have a chocolate egg hunt on for the children that day, after they’d all made simple, little baskets out of thick paper and a variety of glitters and decorations. He knew that Coran had gone in early to paint little rabbit footprints in baby powder all over the kindergarten.

“Look at them all!” Allura said, after she’d rounded up a sizeable amount of chocolate eggs. “When on Earth did you find time to buy all of this?”

“It’s a secret,” Shiro said. “You haven’t found your present yet.”

Allura hummed. “I checked everywhere, though… at least I thought I did.”

Shiro grinned. “Want some help finding it?”

She gave him an amused look, but followed him to the fridge. She clearly gave him a look that said she couldn’t reach to where he was hinting, and Shiro was more than glad to lift her up at the waist. 

“Oh!” Allura reached forwards to take the chocolate eggs and perfume before Shiro set her down on her feet. “Thank you, Shiro. You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” he said, as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I like spoiling you every now and then.”

She laughed quietly. “Well, I’m not exactly opposed to that,” she admitted, looking a little flushed. “But let me spoil you every now and then too, alright?”

He kissed her again as a way of answering. Spoiling Allura was definitely one of his favourite things to do. Her smiles were contagious and when she was happy, it was hard for him not to be happy, too. He’d just… never had the chance to love someone like he loved Allura, and he wanted to take advantage of that for as long as she’d let him. Spoiling her, even with small gifts like this, was a part of that.

“Come on, we’ve got to get ready,” he said. “The kids will want to go egg hunting straight away, but they have to make baskets first.”

Allura laughed again. “Alright, alright. Let me just put the chocolate somewhere the cats won’t get into. We’ll eat it when we get home, right? You have to help me finish it all.”

“Definitely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter ❤


	154. Eggs

The interior of the kindergarten was very decorated when they arrived. Coran had gone all out with the decorations; there were colourful streamers and wall stickers and those little yellow chickens on every surface. He’d managed to draw the rabbit footprints in baby powder, too. It really looked like the Easter bunny had visited Altea.

Coran forced them to put on bunny ears and let him draw little whiskers on their cheeks before getting on with the Easter preparations. There was even a (mandatory, apparently) matching cotton tail to attach to the back of his pants. Shiro was beyond embarrassed, especially when Allura started taking photographs, but he didn’t take any of it off.

There were a pile of chocolate Easter eggs hidden in the fridge. While Coran finished decorating inside, Shiro and Allura took the eggs outside so that they could hide them around the yard. It was a nice day, not too sunny, so the eggs wouldn’t melt while the kids made their baskets. They made sure to hide enough of them so that all the kids would each get a good amount. Shiro was rather pleased with himself when he got the idea to hide a red and a blue wrapped egg together at every hiding spot. Lance and Keith would love that.

“All done?’ Allura asked, as she stood from hiding a handful of little eggs in the sandpit. 

“All done,” Shiro agreed. The kids would be arriving soon, and getting them to focus would be difficult when they knew what was waiting outside for them.

Expectedly, the kids were quite excited when they arrived in the morning. They were allowed to snack on apple slices that Coran had cut into little bunny shapes while they waited for everyone to be dropped off, and as soon as the last child was accounted for, the basket making began.

Each child was given a sheet of cardboard with a box pattern printed onto it. After carefully cutting them out and gluing the piece together via little tabs, they were free to decorate the boxes however they wished. Shiro helped the kids attach the handles securely with little twist pins. He didn’t expect the cardboard to be so sturdy, but he knew they wouldn’t break, even if the kids found a whole bunch of eggs.

“Alright, look over here, children,” Coran said, as he stood in the centre of the room to brandish a huge, woven basket decorated with pastel coloured ribbons. “As a gift from us at Altea, we’d like to give everyone a special Easter egg for their basket! Do you want one?”

There was an uprise of cheers from the children, who scrabbled to get the best spots around Coran and his basket. Shiro couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Coran hand out the eggs. He hadn’t known that Coran was going to do that, but it was sweet.

“Aren’t these nice?” Coran said. “I’m your Easter bunny this year.”

“No way, there are rabbit footprints!” Lance said, as he pointed to the baby powder. “The real Easter bunny was here!”

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed,” Coran said, surprised. If Shiro hadn’t know better, he would have believed Coran’s shocked expression. “Are you sure? I don’t think there are more eggs…”

There was a round of disappointed noises from the children that made Shiro snort. They loved Coran so much that they believed everything he said and it was utterly adorable.

“Oh!” Coran finally exclaimed. “I know! How about… we go on an _egg hunt?”_

Ah, and there it was. The excitement was back. Shiro dutifully stepped out of the way as Coran led his herd of kids straight out the back doors and into the yard. It was clear to him that Coran had spent many Easters with children, if his little routine was anything to go by. 

“There he goes again, being dramatic,” Allura laughed, as she came up to stand beside him. “Isn’t it sweet, though? He loves Easter.”

Shiro tapped one of his rabbit ears. “Yes, I figured.”

“They look good on you,” she grinned.

“Liar.” He was smiling, too.

She reached for his hand and tangled their fingers together. “Let’s go see if they can find all of our eggs.”

The kids were all over the place for a while. Like Shiro had thought, Lance and Keith decided to stick together to do their Easter egg hunting. He was pretty sure they’d turned it into a competition between them and Hunk and Pidge, but there was enough eggs to go around, so Shiro wasn’t too worried. 

Even if it was a competition, seeing the kids work together always made him happy. Sometimes Lance would hold both baskets while Keith carefully put their fair share of eggs inside. Other times Lance would move eggs from his basket to Keith’s so that they had a perfectly even amount. When an egg was just a little too high for them to reach, Keith would put both his arms around Lance’s waist and lift him up those few small inches just for a moment, so that he could get an egg for both of them.

At the end of the day, Shiro didn’t even care that he was wearing embarrassing accessories or that the kindergarten was covered in foil wrappers or that the kids were on a permanent sugar high. They’d had so much fun that it was hard to think of anything bad. All his kids had given him one of their eggs, the foils of which had matched their colours, which they’d all eaten together. He’d given Allura a pink one and had to suffer the embarrassing oohing-and-ahhing from the kids. She’d given him a purple one in reply and the teasing had only sky-rocketed.

All in all, it was a very pleasant way to spend the Easter holidays. He made sure to take heaps of photos of Pidge that he could send to Matt, and he had Allura take a nice photo of both Pidge and himself that he could send along, too. He thought Matt might get a kick out of seeing the rabbit ears and whiskers. He asked Allura for a nice photo of him with her to send to his parents, as well.

It was a really great day.


	155. Chocolate

Shiro yawned as he slumped against the couch. He’d turned the lights down low and shut the curtains, and the dark, warm atmosphere was making him sleepy. His face still kind of stung from his shower – washing off the whiskers Coran had drawn on his face had not been an easy task – and he was still waiting for Allura to do the same so that she could join him.

He yawned again, and made himself comfortable. He could have fallen asleep there if he didn’t know Allura would be coming to join him any moment. They’d already had dinner and fed the cats and he’d showered first. It had been a good day, but a tiresome one. He wanted to curl up and eat chocolate with his girlfriend, but he had a feeling he was going to fall asleep halfway through their relaxation time, instead.

Eventually Allura emerged from the bathroom. She was wearing her most comfortable pyjamas and had her damp hair tied up in a long braid. She shuffled into the kitchen before coming to see him, but when she did she had some of her chocolate eggs broken up into a bowl for them to share.

“You know, I’m almost too tired to eat this chocolate… almost.” Allura nudged her way in between his legs as she clambered onto the couch. She somehow managed to fit in resting against his chest, and with her nestled against him, he couldn’t help but put his arms around her waist and use her as a pillow. “Want some?”

The little pieces of chocolate were perfectly bite sized, so for a while they shared the bowl and watched television. Shiro wasn’t really a sweets person, but he did eat his fair share almost without realising. After a while he stopped eating and closed his eyes instead. Allura was warm and soft and the sound of the television was oddly calming. He never would have thought he’d be able to sit like this, to have a quiet moment like this with someone he loved so much.

It felt really good.

“Shiro?”

“Hmm?” He hummed, half-asleep. 

“Are you going to sleep?”

“Mmm.”

Allura chuckled. He could feel her laughter from where they were pressed together. “Alright, but just for a little while,” she said.

He hardly heard her. His mind had drifted off, and with it he went, content to sleep beside her.


	156. Pretty

“Shiro?”

“Mmm?”

“It’s time for bed.”

He huffed, and shook his head. He wasn’t sure how long had passed since he’d dozed off, but he was frightfully tired, and all too reluctant to move. His leg had kind of fallen asleep from where Allura was resting against it and his neck was starting to ache, but he was too sleepy to feel uncomfortable.

“Come on, lazy bones,” Allura said, as she dug her fingers into his arms. “I can’t carry you.”

Well, he couldn’t argue that. He groaned as he pushed himself upright, and made sure to exaggerate it just a little bit. Allura laughed at him, and steadied him with her hands on his waist. “I’m tired,” he mumbled.

“I know,” she said, “let’s go to bed, then. I’m tired too.”

He shuffled to their bedroom without complaint. It was colder in the bedroom, but slumping down against his pillow was comforting. The chill of the cool fabric felt good against his face. He could smell a mix of his shampoo and Allura’s, and it smelt homely. There was only a faint trace of their fabric softener left on the sheets.

“Allura?” He called after a moment when she hadn’t appeared. He’d grown so used to sleeping beside her that he struggled to drift away into unconsciousness when she wasn’t there, even when he was as tired as he was.

“I’m just getting water, Shiro. I’ll be there in a moment.”

He hummed, and turned his face into his pillow. He could hear her quietly wandering around the kitchen, and after a moment, he heard the light switch being flicked off. He cracked open an eye to watch Allura as she set two glasses of water down on her bedside table, one for each of them. Allura’s weight was familiar as she climbed into bed beside him. She pulled the covers over them before resting on her face, one hand stretched out to trace a gentle line down his forehead with the back of her knuckles.

“Shiro?”

“Mmm?”

“You’re very pretty.”

He groaned, and turned his face into his pillows to hide his flushed reaction. “You’re pretty,” he corrected. 

Allura laughed quietly. She leaned over to press a kiss against his temple. Her fingertips ran through his hair, pushing it away from his face. The motion of it made him feel like he was melting into the mattress. 

“You can sleep now,” she told him.

He made an unintelligible noise, and put his arm over her waist to pull her close. “Now I can,” he corrected.

She just smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I ever tire of writing sleep Shallura cuddles? No, I will not ❤


	157. Ice

On the weekend, Shiro took Allura on another date. Well, she kind of took him, but it was an equal effort on both parts, he thought. It was her turn to choose where they went, so she decided they’d go to their local ice rink. Shiro would choose where they went for lunch afterwards, if they were hungry. Luckily, the sports centre wasn’t too far away from a street full of restaurants and little cafes, so he wasn’t too worried about being able to find somewhere afterwards.

Shiro hadn’t been ice skating since he was a teenager. His balance had been thrown way off after his arm had been amputated and although he was pretty much back to normal, the idea of stepping back onto the ice was daunting. He hid his nervousness partly because he didn’t want Allura to worry and partly because he didn’t want the date to be changed because of him. It wouldn’t be that bad, would it?

Maybe he underestimated his abilities, though.

Getting on the ice wasn’t as difficult as he’d thought it’d be. He and Allura went one trip around the rink by the wall, taking it slow and easy to get used to their skates and the slip of the ice. After that he was fine to shuffle along beside her while she remained by the rink wall for support. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come a little further in?” Shiro asked, as he held Allura’s hand tightly. Her fingers must have been cold – the direction of people on the rink had her on his right side, so she was holding onto his prosthetic, though he did had gloves on.

“I’m good!” Allura insisted. 

Shiro lifted a hand to hide his amused smile. “Your knees are shaking,” he pointed out.

“They are not.”

“They are.”

“Are not.”

He couldn’t hide his next laugh, didn’t even try. “Come on,” he encouraged, as he took both of her hands in his, “this was your idea, wasn’t it? Just trust me.”

“I do trust you,” she said, “but I most certainly do not trust the ice. It’s completely uneven, Shiro. Uneven!”

“That’s because other people have skated on it,” he said. She didn’t protest as he gently eased her away from the wall. “It’s got more grip like this, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know,” she said, doubtful. 

He laughed again. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you- whoa,” he wobbled for a moment, flushed, and gave her a meek smile. “I won’t let you fall.”

“Not very encouraging.” The look she gave him couldn’t have been any flatter. 

As much as she seemed hesitant, she let him guide her across the admittedly uneven ice. Even if he could balance well enough he still wasn’t the best at skating and he did wobble every now and then, but certainly not as much as his poor girlfriend. Oddly enough, it made him smile. He liked to think that he could protect her, even if it was just to stop her from falling on the ice. It felt ridiculously cliché and cheesy and _normal,_ and that was something he was never sure he’d get.

“See, this isn’t so bad,” he said, when they’d both gained some semblance of balance.

“I suppose I can’t complain since I’m the one that decided to come here,” she said. “Are you having fun, at least?”

“Of course,” he said, “as long as I’m with you.”

Allura’s cheeks turned red. “You can’t just say that.”

“Why? It’s true.”

She groaned, and ducked her head. “You’re too much for me,” she said, as she pressed her forehead against his chest. “How am I meant to compete?”

He laughed. “Now you know how I feel every time you look at me,” he teased.

_“Shiro.”_


	158. Weird

Pidge was uncharacteristically quiet come the next day Shiro went to work. It wasn’t unusual for Pidge to be a little withdrawn, but that day, something was different. Shiro wasn’t quite sure what, but he was certainly aware that something was bothering Pidge, even if no one else really seemed to notice. He’d known Pidge for the longest, after all, even if he hadn’t been with Pidge at Altea for as long as others had.

He was tempted to pull Pidge aside and see if there was anything he could do to make him feel better, but Pidge beat him to it. He found Shiro when Shiro was alone, and tugged on the bottom of his shirt to get his attention. “Shiro?”

He knew that something was wrong when Pidge didn’t refer to him as “Mr”. When they were at the kindergarten, Pidge was always sure to address him in the same way that the other kids did (with the exception of Lance and Keith, who refused to follow the rules). “What’s wrong buddy?” He asked, as he bent over to lift Pidge up. There was no doubt that Pidge was always more comfortable being eye-to-eye with the person he was talking to, so Shiro kept that in mind.

“I feel weird,” Pidge said, his eyes lowered.

Shiro frowned, worried. “Weird? Can you describe it for me?”

Pidge made an uncertain noise.

“Is it physical?” Shiro asked. “Does your tummy hurt? Or your head?”

Pidge shook his head as his hands nervously fisted in his shirt. “No, it’s different,” he mumbled. “It’s stupid.”

“Pidge, no matter what, I promise you it isn’t stupid,” Shiro said firmly. “I always want you to feel comfortable coming to me, alright? I will never think anything you tell me is stupid.”

“Okay,” Pidge whispered. He hesitated for a moment. “It’s about Matt.”

“Matt?”

“I had a bad dream,” Pidge said, “and Matt was in it. He got hurt, and he didn’t come home. But it was just a dream, right? He’ll come home, right?”

Shiro felt his heart ache. He rubbed Pidge’s back gently. “Of course he will,” Shiro said without hesitance. “Matt’s favourite place to be is with you, he told me so.”

Pidge glanced up. “Really?”

“Yes,” Shiro said, nodding, “it’s true. When I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is you. He has me send him pictures of you all the time so that he feels less homesick. He loves coming home to see you, and misses you a lot. He tells me that every time we talk.”

“I didn’t know that,” Pidge said. 

Shiro laughed quietly. “Tell you what, how about I ring Matt at lunch and you can talk to him? I’m sure he’ll just love to hear from you.”

Pidge’s eyes widened. “Can I?” He pleaded. “I want to talk to him.”

“Of course,” Shiro said. “If you ever feel like this again Pidge, just tell me, alright? Even if it’s my job to care for you, you’re also my family. I want you to be happy.”

Pidge gave him a smile, and put his arms around Shiro’s neck for a hug. Shiro was more than happy to return it. He liked seeing the Holt siblings smile, and if he could see those smiles from them more often, then what more could he ask for?


	159. Sibling

Coran made lunch for the kids that day just like usual, and Shiro helped to hand out the plates while Allura gave everyone juice. He’d messaged Matt earlier to see if he could spare some time during lunch, and was relieved to find that Matt’s day wasn’t too busy.

He was sure to keep an eye on Pidge while the kids ate. He could see that Pidge was buzzing with pure excitement, and he kept glancing over at Shiro, looking rather expectant. He wouldn’t be allowed to call Matt until he finished his lunch – Shiro had told him that just so he wouldn’t skip a meal, because he knew that was something Pidge often did when he was distracted by something else. (Not surprisingly, but it was also something Matt did.)

When Pidge had finished as much as he could get away with, he was up and out of his seat. He found Shiro before Shiro could even glance up from the work he was doing, and gave him his most expectant look of the day, clearly quite impatient. It made Shiro laugh. 

“Alright, alright, let’s go call Matt,” Shiro said. He lifted Pidge back up and settled him on his hip as he ducked into the office. He’d already told Allura what he was going to do, and after assuring her the call would only be as long as their scheduled lunch break, she’d let him have the office to himself. He’d already set up the computer and its camera, as well as the calling program, so all he needed to do was message Matt that they were ready.

Shiro took a seat in his desk chair and sat Pidge down on his lap. After he’d texted Matt to call them, he opened the program, and sat back to let Pidge do the work. He was very handy with technology, and knew how to work it without needing directions from Shiro. After a moment, Matt’s call came through, and with an excited gasp Pidge accepted it.

“Matt!” Pidge cried, as Matt’s face appeared on the screen. 

“Pidge! Did you grow even bigger?” Matt leaned closer to the screen as a broad grin stretched across his face. “You’re gonna be taller than me soon.”

“No way,” Pidge said. “You’re the big brother!”

Matt laughed. “Well I guess I am!”

“You sound like you forgot that,” Shiro snorted.

“Who, me? Never,” Matt said, “it’s not like I’d forget to put my boots on before lining up in front of the Sargent, or anything.”

“That was _one time,_ Matt.”

“You had _one job,_ Shiro.”

Ah, yes. How he’d missed his friend. Even if Matt’s teasing was embarrassment, it was a welcome relief. Sometimes, even he feared that Matt might not come home, even though he was nowhere near any combat zones. He was working as a technician now, but he used to fly pilot fighters like Shiro did, and Shiro guessed that those old fears of his still haunted him every now and then. 

It must be harder for Pidge, he thought. A child couldn’t understand the demands of a job, especially not one that took a person away from home, let alone one with the Garrison. To Pidge, Matt’s job must have seemed like something that just kept him from coming home. Seeing how overjoyed Pidge was to have his big brother talking to him, even if it was just through a screen, made Shiro realise just how much Pidge missed Matt. It made his heart ache. 

For a while, Shiro idly listened to the two Holt siblings talking. Pidge was talking about his day and telling Matt about all of the cool things they’d been doing lately. He was sure to explain their Easter egg hunt in great detail, and told Matt about how he helped their parents walk Rover every night.

“I can hold his leash now,” Pidge said, proud of himself, “Dad lets me, I swear.”

“Wow! That’s so cool, Pidge!”

Shiro didn’t want to admit it, but he was envious of their bond. They were so close that it seemed cruel to ever have them apart. He’d never seen siblings so close before. He thought that maybe that was because of their large age gap – Matt was already an adult by the time Pidge was born, so there wasn’t any sibling rivalry between them.

Unfortunately, Shiro couldn’t let the phone call go on for as long as he wished it could. Matt noticed the forlorn look on his face, and gave him a weak smile. He knew that they’d run out of time, too.

Saying goodbye was the worst part. “Just a little longer?” Pidge pleaded, as his eyes darted between Shiro and Matt before decidedly landing on Shiro. “Please, Shiro? Just a little.”

Shiro’s heart jumped into his throat. Their lunch break was over and it was be inappropriate of him to keep Pidge away from the other kids for so long, even if it was just to talk to his brother. 

“I’m sorry buddy, I’ve got to get back to work, too,” Matt said, as he rubbed the back of his neck. He probably could have spared a few more minutes, but he knew Shiro couldn’t. “How about I ring you later tonight? Is that okay?”

“But Matt,” Pidge whimpered.

“I’m really sorry,” Matt said. He looked sad too. “I love you lots, Pidge.”

“Love you too,” Pidge whispered.

Matt promised to call again later that night before disconnecting the call. Pidge looked so miserable that Shiro wondered if he’d done the right thing, but then Pidge wiped at his eyes, and his sad look disappeared. He looked like he’d be alright.

“As least you have me still,” he offered when nothing else came to mind.

It made Pidge laugh, and that’s all Shiro needed.


	160. Accident

Sometimes Allura was called away on business matters concerning the kindergarten. Lately Coran had been leaving in her place, but Shiro thought that was just because Coran knew they liked to work together a lot. He was always doing things for them without either one of them realising, but Shiro was started to notice those things more now.

But that day, it was Allura who needed to go. Shiro was a little forlorn about not being able to see her all day, but he figured that a little time apart was good for a relationship. They never had time to themselves, and although he didn’t hate that, it was still good to be able to regroup with himself. He’d still miss her, though.

It was strange going to work by himself. Allura almost looked worried for him when he left home that morning, but it just made him laugh. He’d be alright. It was nice to love someone so much that he’d miss not spending every moment of his day with them. 

For what it was worth, his day at the kindergarten was not unlike the others he had. Although Allura wasn’t there, he still enjoyed his time with the kids and with Coran. They had to do a little more work to cover for Allura, but it wasn’t painfully difficult. They did what Coran liked to call “easy to supervise” activities, where the kids were all in the main room or the recreation room playing board games, watching a movie or doing arts and crafts. 

Shiro was playing with the kids when it happened. He was monitoring the recreation room, and as one movie finished all the kids got up to choose the next one. He was slow to follow them, knowing they’d be able to make a decision themselves, but the kids got impatient with him. They didn’t do anything wrong, nor was their impatience punishable, but…

“C’mon, Shiro!” Keith insisted, as he pulled on Shiro’s left hand. “We’ve got to put another movie on!”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” Shiro laughed. Not one to be outdone, Lance took a hold of Shiro’s right hand and pulled him along, too. The kids weren’t strong enough to do any damage, not on their own anyway. Shiro would have been fine if there wasn’t paper on the ground.

He wasn’t sure who had brought paper into the recreation room. The kids weren’t really allowed to colour or draw unless they were seated at one of the tables, but it wasn’t so bad to lay their things on the floor so they could draw while watching a movie. They were usually careful not to let the room get so messy, knowing that they were toeing the line of what was allowed and what wasn’t. 

Lance didn’t mean to trip. A piece of paper or maybe a crayon got caught under his foot and he was toppling backwards before Shiro could brace himself. Lance held tight onto Shiro’s arm as he fell, and the angle was just _wrong._

Shiro shouted out in pain as a jolt flew down his spine. It was the same kind of pain that he always tried to avoid, that one that brought him to his knees and seemed to rattle his teeth. The kind of pain that made his mouth taste like smoke and burning metal. He didn’t even realise that Lance had become teary eyed with worry until his head stopped swimming.

“I’m sorry, Shiro,” Lance whimpered, as he delicately cradled Shiro’s hand in his. “I’m really sorry! I- I didn’t mean to…”

“Hey, hey,” Shiro soothed, smiling through a wince, “it’s alright buddy. Come here.”

Lance was reluctant as Shiro pulled him in with his good arm. If possible, Lance seemed even smaller than usual as he muffled his cries against Shiro’s shirt. “I’m sorry,” he whimpered again.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Shiro said. He struggled to lift his prosthetic without feeling pain, but carefully rubbed Lance’s back anyway. “It was just an accident buddy, don’t worry about it. I’m alright, see?”

Lance didn’t seem convinced, and he didn’t stop sniffling.

“Are you really alright?” Keith asked, his brow furrowed as he carefully put both of his hands on Shiro’s prosthetic. His touch was so light that Shiro couldn’t even feel it. 

“I’m really alright,” Shiro said. It was a lie, but his kids didn’t need to worry about him like that. They were too young to understand what had happened to him, and he didn’t want them to be affected by his prosthetic. If they became dainty or overly careful around him because of this incident he didn’t know what he’d do. 

It took a while for Lance to calm down. When he had stopped sniffling, Shiro was able to pass him to Keith, who latched onto Lance with both hands, like he was afraid his friend was going to fall apart. Shiro left them and the other kids in the recreation room after assuring them he really was alright. After he said it a dozen times, they seemed to believe him.

But he wasn’t alright. Coran was watching from the doorway – had heard him shout and come running – and Shiro knew that Coran could tell he was lying through his teeth. “There’s an icepack in the office,” Coran said, as Shiro passed through the recreation room doorway, “I’ve left it on your desk in a tea towel. Take all the time you need, alright? I’ll call Allura.”

“No, don’t call her,” Shiro said. “I don’t want to bother her for something like this, I’ll be alright in a bit.”

Coran was not as easy to trick as the children, and he clearly didn’t believe Shiro one bit. “Allura will want to know,” he said.

“I know,” Shiro agreed, “but it can wait for now, I’ll tell her later. The children come first.”

He hated himself for being so weak. He couldn’t help but think that if he wasn’t crippled, this wouldn’t have happened. How could he do his job when he was at risk of getting hurt like this?

He really, really hated it.


	161. Breathe

Shiro wore a compression band over his shoulder and the attachment site of his prosthetic for the rest of the day. It kept his shoulder mostly immobile and stopped the pain from worsening. After Allura had accidentally hurt him, she’d convinced him to leave a compression band and a sling at work just in case something happened. 

He was irritated at himself that her assumptions had been right. He should have been more careful. 

The kids were a bit tentative around him for the rest of the day, especially Lance. Shiro couldn’t remember a single moment when Lance wasn’t trailing behind him like a lost puppy, his fingers often tangled in the hem of Shiro’s shirt. Shiro didn’t turn him away, not even once. Having Lance want his attention was a good sign. 

Despite Shiro asking him not to, Coran did call Allura. She arrived in a taxi at the end of the day, intent on driving home so that Shiro didn’t have to strain his shoulder. She didn’t look pleased, but didn’t criticise him for not wanting to call her. She was just worried. 

At home, she had him take a hot shower before icing his shoulder again. “How bad is it?” She asked. It wasn’t the first time she’d asked a question like that that night, and he doubted it would be the last. He didn’t know if he felt annoyed or touched by her concern. He thought he was leaning towards the latter. 

“It’s not that bad,” he muttered. “Lance isn’t that heavy.”

Allura sighed. She was no doubt remembering how her hit had caused him so much pain, and Lance certainly had more force behind his fall than she had had. “You’ll tell me if it gets worse, won’t you?”

He nodded. He’d tell her.

She made dinner that night, and washed up, too. She fed the cats and put the laundry in to clean. She wouldn’t let Shiro help, and although he rationally knew she was doing it because she wanted to make things easier for him, he couldn’t help but blame himself. He was crippled, so she felt pity. He couldn’t do it, so she was forced to. He was burdening her, and that was wrong of him.

But he couldn’t think things like that. He didn’t _want_ to think things like that anymore. 

“Allura?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re making me feel a little useless.”

Allura startled, and turned around to face him. She had a troubled look on her face. “Want to help me?”

She was drying the dishes, and gave them to him to put away. He was sure to keep a straight face, knowing that if she saw him wincing she’d feel bad. Doing things felt better than sitting still all evening. 

“Do you still worry about being disabled?” She asked him.

He was surprised by the question, because no one had ever asked him something so direct before. His first reaction was to lie, but lying to Allura made him feel awful, so he bit back his words and told the truth. “I do,” he said. “If I had my real arm I wouldn’t have upset Lance.”

“Maybe that’s true,” Allura said after a moment, “but would you be the same person you are now if you hadn’t experienced what you’ve experienced?”

It was a question he’d always, always avoided. He didn’t want to think about it. People had told him that he’d changed after the accident, and he’d always thought they were stupid for saying so. Of course he’d changed. He’d had his arm ripped off. He’d been depressed and angry and spiteful for months while he recovered. And then, when everything in him had finally started to settle, he’d been left with the ruins he had no one to blame for making expect for himself. 

“I don’t know,” he finally admitted. He really didn’t. 

“I don’t think you would be,” Allura said. No one else had ever said that, either. “I like the Shiro you are now. I love the Shiro you are. I feel… I feel like that we would have never met if our paths had been any different to what they are now. I’m not saying that I’m glad you had your accident, but I’m glad to have met you. I don’t want you to be haunted by it anymore, because seeing you in pain hurts me too.”

“Pretty words can’t fix it.”

“I know.” She set the plate she’d dried back down in the drying rack, uncaring that it’d get wet again, so she could turn to look at him straight in the eyes. “But I feel helpless when it comes to your pain. How can I help you when you’re hurt? How can I make you understand just how important you are to the kids, and to Coran, and to me? Do I make any difference at all?”

“You do,” he said. Maybe he wasn’t the only one feeling useless. “I hate that I don’t have a part of me anymore. It’s natural for people to pity me, or look at me differently. If I was a parent, I don’t know if I’d be able to trust someone like me with my child, even though I know that I’m more than capable of caring for them.” He pressed a hand over his face. “I just want to be whole again, but I can’t be. I can’t ever be.”

Allura took his hand in hers and drew it away from his face. “Who says you’re not?” She asked, as she pulled him closer. “Why can’t you be whole just the way you are? Those kids never knew you before the accident, I never knew you before the accident… to me, you’ve never been anything but _Shiro._ Just Shiro. My Shiro.”

He’d never thought about it that way. She’d seen photos of him when he still had his arm, but she’d never _seen_ it. She’d never seen the shape of his real right hand or the little scale he used to have on his first knuckle or the freckle he faintly remembered always having on his inner wrist, though he never knew when it appeared there. She didn’t know that his right wrist had always cracked when he handwrote too much, or that he’d always bite his right hand’s fingernails a little more than his left, or that he’d always thought his right arm was stronger.

Those were only things that existed in his memory. 

“I can’t even begin to comprehend what you’ve lost,” she said, as she pressed her palm to his cheek, “but can we think about what you’ve gained, instead?”

He knew she wasn’t talking about his prosthetic or his scars or his pain. Even if she hadn’t implied that his accident had led to meeting her, in some ways, it had. Before losing his arm he would have never considered working in child care. He was a pilot, not a babysitter. When he’d lost his arm, he’d lost everything that he’d considered to be intrinsic parts of himself – namely piloting. There couldn’t be a plane without a pilot, and who was Shiro without a plane? He was no one.

Losing his arm had forced him to find other things to fill the gaps of what he could no longer be. Even if he couldn’t have been a child care worker before, he could be now. He could be good at it, and enjoy it. He could meet people like Coran and admire them for something other than military rank and piloting abilities. He could meet a person like Allura and fall in love. 

The things he’d gained were pretty good, he thought. They were things he didn’t want to lose.

Allura pressed her cheek against his chest. She sniffled.

“Why are you crying?” He asked.

“Because I know you don’t want to.”

He didn’t want to. He’d done enough of that to last more than one lifetime. “I love you too,” he said, when it became clear she’d told him everything she wanted to by then. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

How long had they been together now? It felt like it’d been years, but could have only been one at that most. She’d probably know when their first anniversary was. 

“Well, you wouldn’t have anyone’s hair to brush in the morning,” she said, huffing through a weak laugh, “and you’d be down two cats.”

“No secret chocolate stash, either.”

“That’s meant to be a _secret.”_

Things felt lighter. He felt like he could breathe again, like he was allowed to. Allura always knew how to sooth his worries. No one had ever been able to do that for him, not in the way she did it. Not with so much brutal honesty. It was what he needed. What would he really do without her? Gently, he brushed hair away from her forehead, and pressed his lips against the skin he exposed. “I love you,” he whispered again. 

He couldn’t help but think that he really wanted to marry her.


	162. Card

The next day Allura drove them to work. Shiro wasn’t as fussed by that as he thought he’d be. That talk they’d had last night had done him a lot of good. It was easier to accept her help knowing the things she’d told him. 

His shoulder was feeling better after a night of rest. The ice and the compression band had helped, and although there was a lingering ache, it wasn’t distracting. He was more worried about Lance than himself. He really hoped that Lance wasn’t still upset about what had happened. 

The kids seemed glad to have him back to normal. Shiro was sure to be as jovial around them as he could, knowing that they’d understand his actions more than his words. He didn’t act any differently to how he normally would. He picked the kids up and moved the tables when needed and wasn’t afraid to move around his shoulder. He probably shouldn’t have just to be sure, but he was being careful. Besides, he could feel Allura’s eyes watching over him, and he didn’t want to worry her too much.

Lance arrived with an anxious look on his face that morning. Keith flocked to him like a moth to a flame, intent on soothing his friend. Lance seemed a little more concerned with finding Shiro to appreciate Keith’s efforts, though that didn’t really deter Keith. 

“What’s up, buddy?” Shiro asked, as he crouched down in front of Lance. “I’m alright, see? Nothing wrong at all.”

Lance had something hidden behind his back. He looked quite nervous as he withdrew it, and offered it to Shiro. “I made this for you,” he said.

Shiro took it. It was a folded piece of paper – a card, he realised after a moment. One Lance had clearly made himself. When he carefully opened it, he was surprised to find it addressed to “Mr Shiro”. Lance never called him “Mr”. 

It was an apology card. Lance’s writing wasn’t that neat, but he had the same childish scrawl that other kids had, and it was easy enough to read. In his card he apologised for hurting Shiro, and promised to never do it again. He’d drawn a little picture of Shiro and himself, too. It was crude, and likely done in crayon, and Shiro had never felt so touched by anything ever before. 

“Thank you for this Lance,” Shiro said, as he refolded the card.

“Do you like it?” Lance asked, as he wrung his fingers together. 

“I love it,” Shiro said. He drew Lance into a hug, and was more than pleased when Lance returned it enthusiastically. “Do you feel better now?”

Lance nodded.

“Alright,” Shiro smiled, as he stood again. “Why don’t you go play with Keith?”

Lance and Keith were off to find Hunk and Pidge once Lance was satisfied. Shiro watched them go and let out a fond sigh. He was sure to tuck the card away somewhere safe where it wouldn’t crinkle or get damaged. He didn’t want to lose it. 

“You seem cheery,” Allura said, as she snuck up behind him. “Did Lance make you a card?”

“He did.”

Allura laughed quietly. “That’s so sweet,” she said, as she pressed a little kiss to his cheek. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Shiro.”

He was, too.


	163. Package

“This way, Pidge.”

“I know, I know,” Pidge said as he huffed. His fingers were tightly wrapped around Shiro’s so that he didn’t get lost in the crowd. “I can’t see very well.”

“Come here,” Shiro said, as he paused for a moment. When Pidge turned to face him he lifted Pidge up and settled him on his hip. “Better?”

Pidge only grinned.

They were out to get things they could put in a care package for Matt. It had been Matt’s idea, actually, one he suggested over a video call with Pidge the previous week. It made Pidge feel closer to Matt, so Shiro had volunteered to take him out on the weekend to find things that Pidge wanted to send to his brother. Mrs Holt had thought it was a great idea, and had offered to give him money for whatever Pidge wanted, but Shiro had declined. This was sort of a gift from him, too. 

“Ah, over there,” Pidge said, as he pointed at a gift shop. “Maybe there will be something there.”

“Alright,” Shiro said, smiling softly. The last time he’d taken Pidge out shopping with just the two of them had been when Pidge wanted to find a dress. He doubted this shopping trip would be as difficult as that one had been, but he was curious to see what Pidge wanted to send his big brother.

It started off with a little dog keychain. “It looks like Rover,” Pidge said, grinning. Shiro agreed, and after buying the little charm, Pidge tucked it away safely into the green backpack he’d brought along with him.

Shiro suggested the next item. He knew which lollies Matt liked the best, and also knew that they weren’t available on Garrison owned sites. He remembered how much of a pain it had been to get things shipped in past security too, so if they could send him some, he thought Matt might like it. He let Pidge pick out a few packets they could add to Matt’s care-package, and let Pidge pick one for them to share for the day, too.

Halfway through the day they stopped to have lunch at the food court. Pidge chatted about everything and anything, and Shiro listened to him fondly. His little backpack was starting to get full now – there was his dog key chain and the lollies, but they’d also found a soft blanket, a book about aliens, and a notebook with tools on the front cover to include. Shiro had noticed that the cologne Matt wore was on sale, so he’d bought that. He remembered how forgetful Matt had been during their shared Garrison days, so he bought a new toothbrush and body wash set, too. (Mrs Holt may have also mentioned that Matt might need it.)

“How do I send a package?” Pidge asked, as he picked at his hot chips.

“Don’t worry, once it’s all wrapped up, I’ll send it,” Shiro said. “We just have to make sure everything is labelled and packaged safely.”

Pidge nodded, looking pleased by that answer. “Okay!”

It was nice to see Pidge looking so happy. Even if sending the package would be a little pricey, he had no doubt that it was worth it.


	164. Starry

Since Pidge decided to send a package to his brother, Matt decided to ship one back. Even if shipping into the Garrison took a while, shipping out of it was much faster. Once his package had cleared security it arrived at the post office within a week. He’d addressed it to Shiro, so Shiro took Pidge to pick it up after work one evening. He left a little early so they’d arrive before the post office shut, but it was around the same time Pidge was usually picked up anyway.

“I wonder what he sent,” Pidge said, as he reached for Shiro’s hand when they entered the post office. “I bet it’s cool stuff!”

“Of course,” Shiro said, laughing. He was curious to see what Matt had sent to his little brother, too. 

The line at the register wasn’t that long. After handing the attendant the slip left by the mailman and showing proof of his identity, they were given the parcel. It was a bit too heavy for Pidge to carry, but not heavy enough that Shiro had to use both hands to hold it – he liked holding Pidge’s hand, too. 

They opened the package at Pidge’s home. Shiro wouldn’t be staying for dinner, but he did let Mrs Holt convince him to have tea. After Shiro cut open the box, he let Pidge have at it.

“Ah, look!” Pidge exclaimed, as he pulled out whatever was left on top. “He sent me lollies!”

Shiro snorted. They were the bagged lollies kept in Garrison cafeterias and food parcels. While their diets were quite strict and the food very regulated, they were given some leeway every now and then. The lollies were nice, and most people hoarded them for bad days. It was sweet of Matt to send his to Pidge, though with Matt’s current stationing, he guessed that the lollies weren’t as rare as they used to be.

“Shiro can you please open them?” Pidge asked, as he held out the packet. “I want to keep looking.”

Shiro cast Mrs Holt a glance, and when she nodded, he indulged in Pidge’s request. The lollies were small, but it would probably be best if Pidge only had a few so that he didn’t spoil his dinner. 

Pidge unveiled a few photographs and a pen with the Garrison logo (Shiro had noticed that kids quite liked things like that – their branded pens were always the favoured ones at arts and crafts time) before finding the true star of the package. “Matt made me another robot!” Pidge cried, as he carefully pulled the contraption out of the box. It was sitting in another box surrounded by bubble-wrap, and when he pulled it free, Shiro got a clear look at it.

He wasn’t quite sure what it was. It was circular, like a soccer ball, and covered in hexagonal panels. Pidge started tinkering with it as soon as he got his hands on it, his tongue peeking out from between pursed lips. He suddenly looked so concentrated that Shiro wanted to laugh. He had a feeling that the things Matt sent were made for Pidge to figure out.

After a moment, the robot suddenly came to line. The gaps between its panels began to glow a soft green, and then they pushed open, revealing star-shaped holes and little dots cut into the metal.

“The light, the light!” Pidge exclaimed, as he impatiently waved a hand towards the lounge room’s light switch. “Turn it off, please!”

Mrs Holt laughed, but did as asked. She looked curious too, though she was probably used to all the strange things Matt sent Pidge. 

As the lights turned off, the true purpose of the little robot was revealed. Starry patterns burst across the walls and ceiling, covering the room in made-up constellations of green light. Pidge’s eyes went wide at the sight of it before he let out an excited cheer. 

“Oh my,” Mrs Holt said, surprised.

Shiro could only echo her amazement. Matt’s ability to create things was phenomenal, but those skills went above and beyond when it was for Pidge. It was incredible to see what he made for his little brother, and even better to see how much Pidge just adored everything he was given. There was not one thing Matt would do that Pidge would dislike, Shiro thought. Seeing Pidge fawn over his new present cemented that.

He would never get tired of it.


	165. Cook

Shiro was a descent cook. He could make enough to have a different meal every night and it wasn’t like he had to live off instant noodles and cereal. His mother had taught him heaps of Japanese and western dishes that he liked to make, and with Allura around, the cooking duties were halved. He never really worried about eating.

The one thing he couldn’t do, however, was bake. Something usually went wrong, and if it didn’t, then what he made usually turned out no more than mediocre at best. Allura was pretty good at baking, so he usually left it to her. 

At the kindergarten, baking was something they did often. Coran was a good cook and a good baker, and he liked to do things involving food with the kids. While sugary treats were a rarity, the days they were allowed to bake were very enjoyable. Most of the kids followed Coran’s directions with ease, but like with some of the other activities they did, there was always a kid or two who stood out from amongst the other children for being exceptionally talented at what they were doing.

With baking, it was definitely Hunk.

“And then you put this much sugar in,” Hunk said, as he scooped out a perfect amount of sugar from the bag to give to Keith and Lance. Neither of Hunk’s friends were any good at cooking and Pidge wasn’t too interested in anything other than the end product, so it was really Hunk’s chance to shine. 

“Are you sure that’s enough?” Keith asked, as he gave their table’s mixing bowl a thoughtful look. “Maybe we should add more.”

“No, no,” Hunk said, shaking his head, “that’s enough, I read the recipe. They’ll be too grainy if you add more sugar.”

“Oh,” Keith said. “I guess that’s true. So what do we do now?”

It was nice to see Hunk take the lead for once. He usually wasn’t all that confident in himself, but he knew where his strengths were, and it was encouraging to see him step up for a little while. The other kids were more than happy to follow him, especially when they knew how talented he was with cooking. They liked his version of Coran’s blue disc lollies more than Coran’s, after all. 

It seemed like Hunk enjoyed the positive attention, too. The kids, mostly Keith and Lance, really fawned over his baking knowledge. Lance in particular wasn’t stingy with his compliments, and Hunk seemed to appreciate them very much. He got all flustered and chuffed with every praise his friends gave him. Shiro had no doubt in mind that their cookies would turn out the absolute best just because Hunk was in charge.

Seeing the kids support each other like they did left him feeling very content inside.


	166. Decorate

Expectedly, the cookies that Hunk made with his friends turned out deliciously well. The kids spent a while decorating them, though their little group decided to give Hunk the most to decorate considering he’d put the most effort into making them. 

“Those look really good, buddy,” Shiro said, as he crouched down beside Hunk. He’d made little sunflowers out of yellow-coloured sweets and chocolates on his cookies. “Yellow is a nice colour, huh?”

Hunk nodded as a warm grin stretched across his face. “Tastes good, too!”

Shiro laughed quietly. “Sure does! Is there anything else you need for decorating?”

Hunk cast a contemplative glance over their table’s supplies. “We might need more stuff,” he said after a moment. “Lance is running out of blue icing.”

That was true. He’d wasted most of it on just one cookie, and while it might taste nice, it meant the others would have less on them. It sort of made Shiro laugh, but that’s definitely something Lance did often. He wasn’t all that great at rationing. It was nice of Hunk to notice before Lance did, too. He was always looking out for his friends.

“Alright, how about we go get some more from the kitchen?” Shiro asked, as he stood back up. “I’m sure Coran has heaps leftover somewhere.”

“Okay,” Hunk said, smiling. He followed Shiro into the kitchen, a place the children weren’t really allowed to go, only after Shiro gave him permission to. He was such a good kid. 

Like he had thought, Coran had left a bunch of extra decorations in the fridge and on the bench. There were more lollies, premade icing and sprinkles leftover that Shiro gave to Hunk. That should be enough to keep the kids occupied for a little while longer. 

“Need anything else?” Shiro asked.

Hunk hesitated for a moment, before shyly asking, “Are there anymore yellow decorations?”

Shiro laughed. “Of course, there’s heaps more,” he said. “Come here.” He didn’t often pick Hunk up, not like he did with the other kids. Hunk always seemed older and more mature, like he didn’t need Shiro to dote on him as much as maybe Lance or Pidge or even Keith did. Still, Shiro had to remember that Hunk was just as young as the others, and there was nothing wrong with showing him just as much attention as he did the others.

From his higher vantage point, Hunk could see onto the bench, where all the decorations were. His eyes went wide at the array offered to him, and with a certain amount of admirable decisiveness, he chose what he wanted. With everything put aside for their group, Shiro set Hunk down, and sent him on his way.

“Thank you, Mr Shiro,” Hunk said with another warm grin. 

He really was such a good kid. Even if he was sometimes a little too nervous sometimes, or if he let Lance boss him around, he never lost sight of what he knew was right and what was wrong. Shiro thought that he’d make a good leader, one day.

“Everything alright there, Shiro?” Allura asked, as she wandered past. Her hands were covered in pink icing. 

“All good,” he said. He looked pointedly at her hands. “How about you?”

She wiggled her sticky fingers at him. “Want this in your hair, mister?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” he laughed, as he backed away. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she said, laughing too. She went into the kitchen to wash her hands, and he turned back to supervising. The other kids were excited by the things Hunk brought them, and it was sweet to see. 

Even if Lance and Keith could be a little combative sometimes, they were never anything but appreciative towards Hunk. Pidge, too. It made Shiro happy to see how much they supported each other. He could only hope that their friendship lasted, but he had a good feeling that it would.


	167. Fixed

Shiro was trying to fix the sink in the kitchen. It was his must-be-done project for the weekend, because it was something that really needed to be repaired. He and Allura had had to mop up the kitchen floor every night that week because there was a leak in the pipes somewhere. It wasn’t that hard of a problem to fix, but finding the leak itself was proving to be more troublesome than he had predicted. 

“How’s it going down there?”

“I think I’m almost done,” Shiro said, as he slowly inched out from under the sink. Allura had been in bed most of the day, struck down by a small cold. He was surprised that she’d managed to get up at all considering how tired she was. She’d pulled on one of Shiro’s sweaters over a pair of tights and was using the long sleeves to keep her hands warm. She hadn’t brushed her hair today, but he didn’t think it looked all that bad. “How are you feeling now? Better?”

“Not really,” she said with a sniffy sigh. “I think I got snot on your sweater though, I’m sorry. I can’t stop sneezing.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it,” he said, waving a hand. “It can just go in the wash when you’re done with it.”

Allura gave him a weak smile, and took a seat at the kitchen bench. “I don’t like being sick,” she said. “I feel useless.”

“You’re not useless,” Shiro said, as he turned on the tap to wash his hands and check for the leak. When nothing started to drip from the pipes, he grinned. “All fixed.”

“My hero,” she said, smiling. 

He laughed, and shut the cupboard door beneath the sink. “Did you take the mediation I gave you earlier?” He asked.

She nodded.

“Alright, then I think it’s back to bed for you,” he said, as he put his hands on her waist to guide her back off the seat. “I’ll wake you up when dinner is ready.”

“But-”

“Honestly Allura, it’s alright,” he said, before she could get guilty over doing nothing. “Cooking and cleaning for one evening isn’t going to do me much harm. You just focus on resting up, okay?”

She looked like she wanted to complain again, but didn’t. He had her lay back down in bed, and pulled off her socks so that she wouldn’t overheat. He refilled the glass of water she kept on her bedside table and tucked the covers up over her. By the time he’d done all that she was struggling to fight sleep, her eyes just barely open.

“Rest,” he said again.

“Okay,” she murmured, before she was out like a light. It made him laugh quietly as he sat on the edge of the bed so that he could comfortably run his fingers through her hair. She always tried her hardest to pull her weight, even when she was ill. How did he get so lucky? He still didn’t know.


	168. Job

Allura wasn’t feeling much better by Sunday, which surprised Shiro. She didn’t often get struck down by a cold, but winter was starting to creep in and the nights were getting colder, so he didn’t worry himself too much.

He did take her to the doctors, though, just to be sure. She seemed rather confused as he bundled her out of bed, still in her pyjamas (his sweater) and slippers, to take her to the surgery. She’d slept most of the drive, and then again while they waited for her name to be called. Luckily, the doctor thought it was just a nasty cold, and prescribed Allura antibiotics to move it along its way faster. As long as she was feeling better tomorrow, and she took the medicine for a week, she would be fine to work with the kids.

With the medicine finally kicking in, and a long day of resting spent hardly doing anything, Allura was starting to feel better. After her shower that evening she joined him on the couch to relax and watch television, her blanket in tow. She wiggled her way in beside him and gave him a thankful smile when he began to draw small patterns down her back and arms. 

“Thank you for taking care of me,” Allura said after a while.

“You don’t need to thank me,” Shiro reminded her, “you’re my girlfriend, it’s my job to look after you.”

A silly sort of smile touched Allura’s face, and embarrassed, she looked away. Somehow her embarrassment made him a little proud of himself. It was a good accomplishment to make his girlfriend blush, he thought. It felt nice to see her happy after being so miserable for the last two days. He was glad to see that she was feeling better now.

They went back to quietly watching television, though Shiro could see that her cheeks were still tinted red. He settled further into the couch and ran his fingers down her arm without really thinking too much about it. After a while, Allura’s head dropped back onto his shoulder, her eyes closed. She’d fallen asleep. 

He laughed to himself quietly, and let her be. A proper night’s rest would do her well, and she looked comfortable. 

When it got a little late, he carried her to bed. Allura wasn’t short, and although she was slender she certainly had some muscle to her, but he didn’t struggle to carry her. He wondered if she knew he was strong enough to pick her up. That was something that would probably make her embarrassed, too, he thought. 

He tucked her into bed, locked all their doors, and turned off the lights. Another week of work was ahead, but he found that he wasn’t disappointed in that prospect. He looked forwards to working with the kids, and Coran and Allura. He never would have thought that he’d be happy with his job after he left the Garrison, but he loved what he was doing. 

The people he was with all day certainly made everything better.


	169. Admit

The power on the entire street had been turned off for the evening. A powerline had been damaged, and although every house had been sent a courtesy letter warning them of the times the power would be off, neither Shiro nor Allura had noticed it. The letter seemed to have slipped from the pile that either one of them could have brought in – they found it under Balmera’s bed, its corners chewed by devious little teeth.

So they weren’t prepared. Shiro managed to take the batteries out of the television remote so they could replace the empty ones in the torch, but they came up empty when searching for candles. Allura had some pretty ones stashed in their room, but he insisted that she didn’t use them, knowing she’d saved the best smelling ones for an afternoon where she specifically wanted them to burn.

“We can make do without them,” he said, as he took two bottles of water from the fridge before shutting it for good. They hadn’t prepared any extra ice to keep their perishables cool, so it would be best if they didn’t open the fridge again until the power was on. At least he’d already made dinner before it went out.

“If you’re sure,” Allura said, as she put her good candles back. She sounded hesitant, but Shiro knew she was glad that he’d said they didn’t need to use them. They were a luxury she was saving, and he knew that a little darkness wouldn’t hurt them. It was already evening, anyway. The torch was enough to brighten the room they were in – the bedroom, because there was no point laying anywhere else, and their quilts were both comfortable and warm. 

Shiro didn’t mind having no power. He could live with it for a little while, even if it meant they had no interior heating and no way to boil water hot enough for tea (their stove was electric, too). It was too dark to read and neither of them were in the mood for a board game, so they just laid there, wondering what to do. Eventually, Allura spoke. 

“Remember the wedding I invited you to a while ago?” She asked.

He did remember it. That wedding felt like it had been years ago, but it couldn’t have been more than just one. “What about it?”

“I got a lot of comments about you,” she said.

Curious, he glanced down at her and raised a brow. She was tucked under his arm, the both of them under the quilts and propped against the headrest with their pillows. “Like what?”

“Well, obvious things,” she started, seeming a little hesitant. “That you’re handsome, that they’re surprised I managed to find someone like you, that if you hurt me they’d promise to do some unspeakable things to you – they were joking, I promise. Well, most of them.”

He laughed a little. He wasn’t too worried about that, though he was worried about making a good impression. He wanted Allura’s family members to like him, after all.

“There was something else, though,” Allura continued.

“Is it bothering you?” He asked. It looked like it was.

“A little,” she confessed. “I know they were only teasing me, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I think it’s something we should talk about. It’s just a little… embarrassing.”

He gave her a puzzled look. “I’m not going to laugh at anything you say,” he reassured her. “If you want to talk about something, then we can talk. I just want you to be comfortable with whatever it is.”

“I know, I know,” she said, as she put a hand on his chest, “that’s why I’m bringing it up. It’s still embarrassing, though.”

He waited for her to talk. 

“At the wedding, they were asking if we-” she made a rolling hand gesture, her eyes pointedly fixed elsewhere, “if we’d had- had sex yet.”

It took a moment for it to click, but when it did, he felt his face turn red. His first instinct was to turn his face away, so that’s what he did. Alright, so that was embarrassing to talk about. 

“Embarrassing, right?” She forced a laugh.

Shiro stopped himself from letting out a long exhale. Allura was clearly nervous talking about sex, and he hadn’t ever asked her about her history, so he needed to get over it. “A little,” he admitted, “but it’s okay to ask about. Just… go for it. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.”

“You don’t mind talking about it?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“If you don’t want to answer something, that’s okay.”

“I know. The same goes for you.”

“You have questions, too?”

“Of course I do.”

“Okay.” She let out a breath. “Okay. Are you a virgin?”

His cheeks burned. “No.” There was a moment of silence. “Is that bad…?”

“No, no,” she was quick to say. “I don’t have a problem with it. I mean, we’re not teenagers anymore, it’s not that unexpected. But… I’m not saying I don’t trust you, but can you get tested before we…?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said. There was another silent moment. “Are you a virgin?”

She glanced away again. Even in the low light he could see her face was red. “Yes,” she said, as she cleared her throat, “I am. Is that bad?”

“No, of course not,” he said. Would that make him her first, if they ever…? He didn’t want to think about it, it was making him feel too many mixed feelings (all positive, though). He was starting to sense where the conversation was going. “I don’t mind waiting,” he finally said.

She looked up at him. “You don’t?”

“For you? Not at all.”

Her face went red again, but she didn’t look away. “I’m not saying I don’t want to, because I do,” she said, “but not… not yet. We’ve almost been together for a year and most people already expect sex and I don’t want to deprive you or anything-”

“Allura,” he said to stop her rambling, “you’re not depriving me of anything, okay? It’s not… I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t thought about it, because I have,” he paused, embarrassed, “but if it was a problem, I would have already said something. It’s been ages since I had a girlfriend – years. After the accident there was nothing about myself I was interested in, and I had no sex drive. It’s just… it’s different now. Sure, I want to have sex with you, but I just want to… _be_ with you. Does that make sense?”

She nodded.

“Then that’s that,” he said, “so don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Is it okay that I have no experience?” She asked. “I’m not ashamed of it, but I really don’t know much about how it actually works or anything – practically, that is. It just makes me nervous.”

“Me too,” he said. At her surprised look, he continued. “The girl I love is trusting me with something so intimate that she’s never showed anyone else, how could I not be nervous? I’m worried it won’t be good enough for you, when it does happen. I just want to make you happy.”

Allura pressed her face against his chest. “I have no doubt that you can,” she said. “You really don’t mind waiting?”

“Not at all,” he said, confident. “Even if you’re never ready, I don’t mind. You can always talk to me about this sort of stuff. We can figure it out.”

She nodded. She seemed much more at ease now. “Thank you,” she said quietly, “for understanding. I don’t think many other people would.”

“I doubt anyone else could possibly love you as much as I do in the way I do.”

She laughed quietly. “I suppose that’s true. I love you too, you know.”

“I know.”

They settled into a comfortable silence for a while. Shiro drew her closer, had her rest against him. He wondered what could have brought on the conversation, but it seemed startlingly obvious to him now. They were two adults left in the dark with nothing to do but be in bed. It seemed like the situation was almost set up for it.

He was sort of glad they hadn’t, though. While he did want to sleep with Allura, he appreciated that he didn’t have to. He still felt the way he did, still loved her as much as he did, without that sort of intimacy guiding the way. He’d never felt less impatient for something in his life.

“You know,” Allura said after a long moment, her voice light and teasing, “I think about it too.”

He couldn’t help but laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've wanted to write this chapter for a while, but I was unsure if it would fit with the rest of them. Kindergarten is a fic that's probably 99% fluff (on purpose), and I want to portray Shiro and Allura's relationship as healthily as possible, especially because the story is so light-hearted. Still, I've wanted to write this for a while, so I gave in and did. I really enjoy when I give myself the chance to do something I've wanted to, so I hope it's alright ^^


	170. Scarf

It was a pretty uneventful week at the kindergarten. Shiro cleaned, played with the kids and taught them the things that he had to. It was getting colder, so he was constantly reminding them to bring scarves and beanies if they wanted to play outdoors. Lance was hardly affected by the cold at all, and he’d had to wear one of Shiro’s jackets twice that week just so he could go outside with his friends (it was huge on him, painfully so. It reached down well past his knees and the sleeves had to be rolled up four times on each arm). 

He thought it was a nice week, even if it was a little slow and quiet. The change in weather was starting to make everyone sick – there was a lot of sniffles and sneezing happening – but other than that it was a calm sort of time. Allura was feeling much better after a weekend of rest, and the medicine she was taking had worked wonders to clear away her cold. The kids were none the wiser that she’d ever been unwell in the first place. 

Coran seemed to enjoy the cooler weather. He had a wide array of… interesting sweaters. The kids just loved to see what he’d wear the next day. Shiro didn’t think he could wear what he did anywhere but at Altea Kindergarten. Surely it would be too embarrassing.

Halfway through the week, Coran gifted Shiro and Allura a scarf each. He didn’t have a particular reason for it, just the fact that it was starting to get colder and he cared. They were nice scarves, too – soft and warm, and gentle colours, so different to the sweaters he seemed to love wearing. Shiro and Allura would be sure to gift him something sometime soon in return, though Coran had insisted he didn’t need anything. That was just the kind of man he was. 

All in all, it was a quiet time. He thought that the gradual change in season had something to do with it – everyone was adjusting, getting used to wearing warmer clothes and having colder nights. Even he was doing the same; having his showers a little hotter, making more tea to keep his hands warm, seeking out the warmth of Allura’s body in bed in the middle of the night more often. He didn’t really have a preference for seasons, but the colder ones made people more affectionate, more willing to cuddle up for warmth. With Allura, that certainly wasn’t a bad thing.

They’d have to plan an activity to do with the kids soon so that they didn’t get bored, but Shiro didn’t feel rushed. He was content with everything.


	171. Branches

One night, there was a storm. It wasn’t particularly thunderous, but there was a lot of harsh wind, and when Shiro arrived at Altea Kindergarten in the morning, he found that one of the branches in the backyard had been knocked down. 

“Are you sure you can move it on your own?” Allura asked, as a worried frown touched her face. “I can ask Coran to help-”

“It’s alright,” Shiro said, laughing quietly. Coran had gone out to restock the kitchen like he always did; he needed to get the food so he could start on lunch for the day, so Shiro didn’t want to bother him. He could manage on his own. “Don’t worry, just make sure the kids don’t come outside.”

Like usual, when something was amiss at the kindergarten, all of the kids were very interested. They were peering out of the windows to awe at the branch, and looked like they wanted to do nothing less than climb all over it like it was a piece of play equipment. Their expressions made Shiro laugh, though he was sad they would be disappointed when they weren’t allowed on it. There were too many sharp edges and splinters to be had for the kids to get anywhere near it.

After putting on protective gloves, he set to work disassembling the branch. He could easily snap off thinner branches to make it easier to dispose of, so that’s what he spent the morning doing. It wasn’t exactly hard work, but he did build up a bit of a sweat. Eventually he managed to make the branch easier to handle, so he started to throw all the smaller branches he’d snapped off away. There were other large sticks that had been broken off trees in the storm, so he threw them away, as well. 

When the entire branch had been disposed of, he pulled off his gloves and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. Allura was waiting on the porch with a glass of water which she gave to him after letting the kids out to play. 

“Thank you,” he said, after he’d drained the glass. “Is the yard alright now?”

“Yeah, it’s perfect,” she said. “You’re all sweaty.”

“Can’t exactly help it.”

“It’s a good look on you.”

He flushed. Now that he was looking at her properly, he could see a redness to her cheeks that certainly wasn’t from the cold. “Were you watching me?”

“Maybe.”

He laughed. He was embarrassed, but Allura’s admiration of him felt nice. He didn’t think being sweaty was all that attractive, but on her maybe he’d change his mind. Allura could make anything attractive, he thought. “Well, as long as the backyard is safe, I think I’ll go wash my hands. You’ll be alright by yourself for a few minutes?”

“No problem,” she said. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before letting him go. Before he disappeared into the bathroom to wash his hands, he glanced back out of the window, just to make sure Allura was really alright. Had she really liked what she saw when he was working before? He wasn’t blind to the fact that he had broad shoulders and muscles – he’d needed them for the Garrison, and then again to balance out his missing limb – but he’d never really considered that it could be something Allura… _liked._

He felt a little stupid thinking about that, actually. Allura thought he was attractive, and it was a scenario right out of a romance movie. If he were being honest, the more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he got. 

She was just too much for him.


	172. Noise

Shiro and Allura didn’t know all of their neighbours. Although most of the people in the complex were older and without kids, there were younger couples around like them too, and even a few families with small children. The area was usually quiet and peaceful, and very safe.

There were some houses down the road that never seemed to have the same tenants for more than six months, though. The people who moved in usually didn’t fit into the quiet neighbourhood, and sometimes there would be a lot of noise coming from their houses. Although Shiro and Allura lived a street away, they could still hear what was going on clearly enough to be bothered by it. 

Allura frowned as she peered out of their lounge room window. “There are a lot of cars on the street,” she sighed, as she let the curtains fall shut. “I think I’ll leave Panther inside tonight.”

“He won’t like it might,” Shiro pointed out.

“The noise will frighten him and he won’t come home for breakfast,” she said. “He’s sleeping on his towel again, isn’t he?”

Shiro glanced towards the balcony doors where they kept Balmera’s bed and Panther’s towel. “Yeah, he’s there.”

“Good,” Allura sighed. “I’ll lock the doors, then.”

Shiro nodded, and continued cooking. They’d have to take the cats for their regular check-up at the vet soon, and just thinking about trying to squeeze Panther into a carrying cage was already making his arms ache. There’d certainly be a lot of scratches to come, but it needed to be done. It was in their best interest, anyway.

“How long until dinner is ready?” Allura asked, as she came up behind him to peer up over his shoulder as best as she could. “It smells good.”

“Ten minutes or so,” he said. He jumped when Allura’s cold hands snuck under his jumper, pressing against the sensitive skin at his sides. “Your fingers are cold,” he complained.

“And your body is so, so warm,” she sighed, pressing her cheek against his back. “How come you run so hot all the time? It’s not fair.”

He laughed quietly. “You get extra hair as insulation,” he stated. “All of your hair is worth at least three scarves.”

She snorted, and dug her fingers into his hips. “Don’t be stingy, share your warmth,” she ordered. 

“Whatever you say, Princess.”

She smiled; he could feel it against his back. “I hope their noise dies out soon,” she said, as she absentmindedly started to trace patterns across his stomach. “I don’t want to be up until two in the morning again. It’s so hard to sleep with all that partying going on.”

He hummed in agreement. Shiro was used to sleeping through a dorm full of rowdy boys, and after the piercing quiet of his hospital room after the accident, he welcomed the noise. He didn’t find Allura’s light snoring or the creaking of the house unsettling, but instead grounding. The noise helped him sleep easier. The partying was certainly a different matter, though.

When dinner was ready, he served food for two, and they ate together. He put the radio on so that it was the only thing they could hear, other than the conversation they had. The party down the street didn’t really slow down much, and while it was easy to ignore for a while, that feat became much harder to achieve when it was time to sleep. 

“Honestly, do they have to be so loud?” Allura complained, as she jerked their bedroom curtains shut in an attempt to block out even some of the noise.

Shiro was already in bed, and after turning of his lamp, he beckoned her over. “Just try to ignore it,” he said.

She pulled the covers back and shuffled under them, childishly pulling the sheets over her ears until only the top of her head was visible. “It’s annoying.”

He made a noise of agreement as he adjusted her pillow for her before lying down. In the dark of the room, the low thumping noise of the partygoers seemed even louder. It didn’t bother him as much as it bothered her. “You know, after my accident, I was stuck in the hospital for ages.”

She lowered the covers to peek at him. 

“It was crazy quiet there,” he said. He rolled on his side to face her, and put his arm over her waist. “There was beeping from the machines, and every now and then I’d hear footsteps, but other than that it was just… quiet. Half the time the ringing in my head was louder than my own heartbeat.”

“I didn’t know that,” she said quietly.

“I never told anyone,” he shrugged. “I got used to the noise of the dorms, so the hospital was a change. People seemed to think that after the accident I would appreciate the silence, but I didn’t. It was too clinical.”

“Is that why you like the clock on your bedside table?” She asked, as she eyed it. Its ticking was loud and hard.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “the noise is nice. Your snoring, too.”

“I don’t snore!”

“You do!” He grinned. “But I like it. Even if I don’t like the noise of the other house, it’s better than silence. It’s probably different for you, huh?”

It was her turn to shrug. “I like the quiet when I sleep,” she said, “it makes my mind drift off easier. Noise at night freak me out.”

“Good thing you’re a heavy sleeper then.”

“I didn’t used to be.”

“You didn’t?”

“I think it’s because I have you know,” she said, flushed. “It’s nice to have someone to cuddle with.” After a moment, she pressed her cold toes against his legs. “Even better when they’re like a personal heater.”

He yelped at the sudden coldness and shuffled away from her, but it was in vain; she had him right where she wanted him. “Allura!”


	173. Bake

Shiro was trying to bake. There wasn’t any real reason behind it, other than the fact that it was the weekend and he was bored. He knew that baking from scratch was probably out of his skill range, but something out of a box would be alright, wouldn’t it? He’d found a mix that was gluten and nut free, and he’d use lactose free milk – he wanted to make something for the kids like Coran often did.

“Shiro, you seem to be struggling a little there,” Allura said, as she hovered by the bench. “Are you sure you don’t want any help? I don’t mind.”

“No, no, it’s alright,” Shiro said with a shake of his head, “I want to do it on my own.” 

Allura sighed. “If you’re sure… I’ll just monitor you, then.”

He laughed. “If you’ve got nothing better to do.”

She sent a lazy smile his way and took a seat at the bench. “You know the kids are going to love what you bring in, right?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he read the back of the cupcake mix box. “I hope so,” he said, “I don’t really bring much in for them, do I? Coran does all of the cooking.”

She hummed. “He’s good at it, and he likes to do things he’s good at,” she said. “Though he does experiment a bit too much. Some of the things he makes – I’m glad he’s never made them again, if I’m being honest.”

Shiro laughed. Coran’s blue disc lollies instantly came to mind. He hoped the cupcakes would turn out alright, and that the kids liked them enough to eat them.. He’d make sure to be very careful with the ingredients, and tried not to get too distracted by the colourful decorations he’d bought. He’d have to make a whole bunch of cupcakes before he even got to the icing though, so he focused on that instead. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?

The longer he spent staring at the mess he’d already made in their kitchen, the more he wished he’d taken up Allura’s offer for help. 

“We’ll just have to see how it goes,” he eventually decided.

Allura just laughed.


	174. Pass

Shiro packed the cupcakes in one of the large contains they kept in the house the next morning, safe for transportation. He’d decorated one especially for every child at Altea with Allura’s help, and there was even one for Coran. 

“The kids are going to love them, don’t worry so much,” Allura said, as she carefully cradled the container on her lap. Shiro was driving, and he’d been worried about them sliding around in the back seat, so she’d offered to keep them steady for him. She could read him like a book.

“I’m more worried about passing Coran’s scrutiny,” Shiro chuckled. It was Coran’s job to approve of any food given to the kids from anyone other than their parents, considering he was the one who did all the cooking. And while Shiro was sure Coran wouldn’t mind him bringing in food for the kids (Coran, Allura and other parents often did the same thing) he was still worried. He wasn’t the best baker, after all. “Has Coran ever rejected food you’ve brought in?”

“No,” Allura said, “and he won’t turn these away, Shiro. They’re only cupcakes.”

He laughed a little again. He supposed she was right; he was worrying for nothing. Sometimes he still felt like he was brand new at the job, like the kids hadn’t completely adjusted to him or that he hadn’t completely adjusted to them. Rationally he knew it wasn’t like that. Allura was right – the kids would like the cupcakes. What child didn’t like cake?

Just like Allura had said, Coran approved of his cakes after making sure they were nut and gluten free. Of course he teased Shiro all the while, giving him scrutinizing squints and overly dramatic stares just to make him squirm. It was just so much of a Coran thing to do that Allura had promptly burst out laughing, which had made Coran laugh, too. Shiro had been left standing there dumbly and quite worried, until he’d cottoned on to their amusement.

With Coran’s permission, he set the cupcakes aside in the fridge for safe keeping. The kids would be arriving soon, and he didn’t want them thinking they could have straight sugar for breakfast or morning tea. Maybe after lunch, if they’d behaved. Although he was embarrassed about it, he was kind of excited to see how they’d react, especially his kids. He’d made a blue cupcake for Lance, red for Keith, yellow for Hunk, and green for Pidge. There was an orange one for Coran, and a pink one for Allura, too (that she didn’t know about). 

It was bound to be a good day, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tuesdays are always so exhausting for me, I couldn't manage more than this today ^_____T


	175. Learn

The kids were pretty well behaved during the day. It was far too cold outside to play, and the clouds were looking a little overcast, so they were stuck inside the warmth of Altea Kindergarten all day. They were only moderately loud as they played with their toys but were quiet when they needed to be, and all the adults were rather content to offer them a treat for cooperating so well.

After lunch had been eaten and plates cleared away, Coran brought out the box of cupcakes. All the kids knew what it was, and an excited hush fell over them. Shiro laughed as he watched, leaning against the wall. The children were so easy to read.

“Does anybody feel like a cupcake?” Coran asked, as he brandished the container. 

“Yes!”

Shiro muffled another laugh. Did Coran really need to ask? Even Allura seemed amused at Coran’s exaggerated display. It was clear how experienced and talented he was at his job.

“These ones are special,” Coran said, as he pulled the lid free and placed the box on the table. “Don’t they look nice?”

Shiro flushed, embarrassed. “Coran,” he started. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of them.

“These cupcakes were made by Shiro!” Coran said. “There’s one for everybody.”

“Really?” Lance asked, amazed, as his eyes shot over to Shiro. “You made them?”

“Ah, I did,” Shiro said, as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I hope you like them.”

“They look so yummy,” Hunk said, his eyes fixated on the cupcakes. “Can we eat them now, Mr Coran?”

Coran laughed. “Of course, of course. Everyone grab a serviette and I’ll give you your cupcake. No rushing, please.”

Shiro was rather pleased with himself as he watched the kids scramble for a napkin. They followed Coran’s instructions and lined up neatly to wait for their cupcake. Coran knew the kids better than Shiro probably did, so he had no problem distributing the cupcakes to the right child. 

“They look like they like the cupcakes, huh? Told you they would,” Allura said, as she wandered over to stand beside him. She had her own pink cupcake cradled in her hands. 

Shiro laughed. “I suppose you were right,” he conceded.

“Of course I’m right, I always am,” Allura teased. She held up her cupcake. “Thank you for this, you didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.”

She chuckled. “Here, you have the first bite.”

He was surprised, but she pressed the cupcake against his lips before he could refuse, so he took a bite. The icing was a little too sweet for his taste, but the cake itself was nice. It wasn’t as dense as he’d thought it would be. “It’s nice,” he said.

She laughed again. “You’ve got some here…” She reached up a hand to wipe at his cheek with her thumb. “There you go.”

“Allura,” he complained, embarrassed. She just gave him a cheeky grin.

The kids seemed impressed by the cakes. Shiro turned to watch his kids in particular, and was pleased when they fawned over their coloured treats. Lance seemed ridiculously proud to get a blue one, and Keith looked pleased with his red one. After a moment, Keith offered Lance the first bite of his. Lance didn’t hesitate before accepting it, and even offered Keith his in return.

Shiro’s brows raised. Had Keith been watching them?

“They’re sweet, aren’t they?” Allura sighed fondly.

“The kids or the cupcakes?”

“Both,” she laughed. “It was a good idea to make them, the kids really love it. I think you’ve going to become everyone’s favourite, soon.”

“You’re still my favourite,” he said.

Allura’s cheeks turned pink. She took a bite of her cupcake so that she didn’t have to talk. He smiled, pleased with himself. Even if Allura was a professional at teasing him, he was still able to render her speechless every now and then. He was learning from the best, after all.


	176. Bud

The Mountain Juniberries were growing well. Alfor had bought a little greenhouse for them so that Allura’s potted plants didn’t wither in the cold weather, and they’d been growing well lately. She went out to check on them every morning before the kids arrived at Altea. Over time Allura had added more plants to the greenhouse so that it was bursting with life.

She called him out one morning to look at the Mountain Juniberries. 

“They’re a lot bigger than the last time I saw them,” he said, eyes wide in surprise as he looked over the budding flowers. The stems had thickened and multiplied over time, and were now sporting not only a variety of small leaves, but small pink buds, as well. “How long until they flower, do you think?”

“I’m not sure,” Allura said, as she carefully drizzled water over the plants. “Depends on how cold winter gets. I think they’ll wait until spring to show themselves, though. I’m just glad they’re actually growing.”

Shiro nodded in agreement. He’d had no doubt that Allura could get the rare flowers to grow, but he was struck with a true feeling of excitement at seeing them produce healthy buds like they were. He still didn’t know what the flower looked like when it was in bloom, but he was adamant on not finding out until Allura got them to grow. 

Most of the plants that the kids had planted had survived the start of winter, too. Allura had moved them all into bigger pots so that they had more room to grow, and now the kids helped her take care of them. It was nice to see that they were still excited about the plants whenever Allura mentioned that it was time to water and measure them. 

“I can’t wait to see them bloom,” Allura said, as she set aside her watering can so that she could gently run her fingers along one of the bigger leaves. “I hope they survive the winter.”

“I’m sure they will,” he said, as he rubbed her back. “If need be, we can bring the pot home.”

She laughed quietly, and leaned into his touch. “I know,” she said, “I’m sure they’ll be fine here. The greenhouse traps a lot of warmth, don’t you think?”

He nodded. “The kids are going to love seeing these,” he said. “I know they’re only buds, but they’re already so colourful.”

Allura smiled to herself. “The flowers themselves are very colourful, too,” she said. “I remember seeing entire hills and meadows filled to the brim with them when I was younger.”

He could hardly imagine what that would look like, but it would certainly be wonderful. “I’m excited to see them too.”

“I’m glad,” she said, laughing again. “I hope you like them.”

“I have no doubt that I will.” He put his hand against her face to tilt her cheek towards him and pressed a kiss there. “But I like you more.”

“Shiro,” she admonished, embarrassed, as she nudged him away. Her cheeks had gone red. “Not where the flowers can see.”

Shiro laughed. “Alright, alright.”


	177. Anniversary

When their one year anniversary rolled around, Allura organised what they were going to do. She seemed hesitant when deciding, and although he offered to help her, she was adamant on planning it all herself. She seemed like she really wanted to do it, so he let her be.

Although the day itself fell on a work day, Shiro did make an effort to spoil Allura in the morning. He turned off her alarm and let her sleep in for a little longer, and did their morning chores so she didn’t have to. He made her breakfast to wake her up – blueberry pancakes and orange juice, something she often made herself because she liked it so much (and to prove that he’d listened to her when she taught him, which certainly amused her). 

When they got to Altea Kindergarten, the kids and Coran surprised them with a big card and a bouquet of pink and purple flowers. The card had _Happy Anniversary!_ written in Coran’s surprisingly neat handwriting, and all the kids had signed it in different coloured crayons and pens. Shiro laughed when he saw it, and accepted it while Allura took the flowers.

“Do you like it?” Lance inquired, as he peered over Shiro’s arm to watch Shiro read their little messages.

“Of course, buddy,” Shiro said, smiling, “it’s amazing.”

Lance grinned. “Obviously, we’re the ones that made it so it’s great!”

Allura laughed. With the flowers in hand, she turned to Coran. “Thank you,” she said, “these are lovely.”

“You’ve very welcome,” Coran said. “The kids were very specific with the flower colours I was to buy, you know. They wouldn’t accept anything other than this.”

“Oh, is that so?” Allura said with a small chuckle.

Coran nodded. “Yes, they were. They said that Allura is pink, and Shiro is purple, so I had to get flowers that featured those two colours exclusively.”

“Just those two?”

“Yes. I was only allowed to include green leaves because I insisted that bouquets didn’t come without them.”

Allura laughed again. “Thank you for going through all that effort, Coran. The kids look very proud of themselves.”

“They better be, their request was quite difficult to fill.”

The kids did look quite happy now that their little surprise had been had. Shiro couldn’t help but smile to himself. He really hadn’t expected anything from them, not like this. Even if Altea was the place where he and Allura had met, and where they had subsequently started dating, it had never registered to him that this wasn’t just work, it was a place important for them as a couple. 

Without any knowledge on what they were going to do for the evening, Shiro spent the day very curious. Allura spent some time on the phone and didn’t mention who she spoke to, but she seemed a lot happier after the call had ended. He wondered who she talked with, but didn’t question her. The surprise could wait, he thought.

At the end of the day, they returned home. Coran let them off a little earlier once most of the kids had been picked up, which they were thankful for. Shiro drove while Allura held onto their flowers and card.

“Should I get dressed to go out?” He asked, as he unlocked their front door. Two hungry cats greeted them, mewling and pushing against their legs.

“No, we’re staying in tonight,” she said. After a pause, she added, “If that’s alright?”

“Of course it is,” he said, offering her a smile. He drew her closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m going to go shower, then.”

“Alright.”

He got cleaned up, changed into comfortable clothes, and while Allura took her turn in the shower, he found a vase for the flowers and put the card away safe in a drawer. He wasn’t sure if the flowers would suit Allura’s bedside table or the kitchen table more, so he left them on the one in the kitchen. They could always be moved later, anyway.

“We’ll be ordering in food tonight,” Allura said, as she fed the cats after her shower. “You don’t mind, do you? Really?”

“Not at all,” he said. “You can do whatever you like tonight Allura, I’m up for anything.”

She gave him a relieved smile, and dug through one of their kitchen drawers to pull free a brochure. “I found this Japanese restaurant the other day, and they do home deliveries. I was thinking we could get dinner from there.”

Shiro’s brows rose.

Allura flushed. “I mean- you’re Japanese, right? Your mother?”

He nodded. “I’d love to have Japanese food for dinner, I haven’t had any since I lived with my parents. My mother makes it all the time.”

Allura smiled. “Okay. I don’t know much about the cuisine, so you can order whatever you want.”

“For you, too?”

“If you don’t mind.”

The menu looked pretty good as he glanced over it. A lot of the dishes were very traditional and ethnic, and it reminded him of his childhood. His mother had wanted him to be in-touch with his cultural roots so he’d grown up following Japanese traditions and eating Japanese food. He had a pretty good idea about what menu items Allura would like, so after choosing a nice selection (it _was_ their anniversary, he thought he could splurge a little) he placed the order with the restaurant. 

It would take anywhere between thirty minutes and an hour for their order to arrive, so in the meantime, Shiro let Allura take control. She dragged their quilts and pillows out into the lounge room and piled them across the sofas. While she did that, Shiro got out cutlery and plates ready for their food, which he placed on their coffee table. It was clear that they’d be eating in the lounge room, which Shiro didn’t mind.

Before their food arrived, he went to get the gift he’d bought her. He’d bought her a blue dress (with a little direction from both Coran and Alfor) after checking the sizes of the dresses she had in their closet. He’d bought her a necklace too, one with a small origami bird charm. He wasn’t sure if she’d like it or where she could wear it, but it was nice, and the lady behind the counter had given his choice an approving look, so he’d bought it.

Allura had a gift for him, too. He wasn’t sure why but he was surprised. They sat on the sofa to exchange gifts and he waited to see her pleased reaction to what he’d bought before opening his own. She’d framed a nice picture of them from the apple orchard and decorated the frame in her neat handwriting. It would fit perfectly on his bedside table, and warmed his heart more than anything else.

It was shaping up to be a really good night.


	178. Video

Their food arrived after they’d opened gifts and found a movie to watch on television. Shiro answered the door and paid the courier before taking the food inside. The restaurant had included disposable chopsticks in with the food, so he separated them before handing Allura the containers.

“This smells so good,” she said, as she passed him a plate. “Where do we start?”

Shiro wasn’t sure what he was expecting from the restaurant; he’d never been there before. He was pleasantly surprised, however, and the more he ate, the more he liked it. The food tasted fresh and crisp, and all the flavours were so much like what his mother made that he was more than pleased with their selection.

He taught Allura how to eat with chopsticks. Her fingers were clumsy and she struggled a little, but she eventually got the hang of it. He was more than happy to show her as many times as she needed, though. Half the time he thought she was just pretending not to know how to use them so that he had to cradle her hand and sit right beside her to show her.

When they were almost finished eating, Allura stood and moved towards the television. She fiddled with something, before making a satisfied noise and switching the channel.

“What’s on?” He asked.

“Nothing,” she said, “but I do have something for us to watch. I asked my father to send me these today… Ah, there we go.”

An image came to the screen. Shiro’s eyes went wide at the sight of it. The camera shot was shaky and unfocused, but it was clear what he was looking at.

Baby Allura was giving the camera a curious look. She couldn’t have been any older than the kids at the kindergarten now. Her cheeks were chubby, and her thick hair was cut shorter and full of glittery hair clips. There were muffled words from the person behind the camera – Alfor, probably, if the tone of voice was anything to go by – that had Allura grinning a wide, rosy grin.

“I had my father email me some videos this morning,” Allura said, embarrassed. “I knew he had a whole stash of them somewhere.”

Shiro was speechless. The sight of Allura as a child had his mind racing in every direction imaginable. He was sure he’d never seen a kid so cute. She was just sitting there, in a little yellow sundress, but she seemed to captivate the entire room. Alfor was filming her as she pawed through a children’s book, surrounded by torn wrapping paper. Was it her birthday when the video was made? He guessed it was.

“Is this okay?” Allura asked. “I mean, for the evening? I know it’s sort of expected to go out, but…”

“This is better,” Shiro said. He tore his eyes away from the screen to give her a warm smile. “I can’t believe you found these. I’ve never seen a kid so cute.”

Allura flushed all the way up to the tips of her ears. 

The videos Alfor had sent her were heart-wrenchingly cute. There were clips of Allura playing in a field of flowers in Altea (not Mountain Juniberries, he was assured) and a clip of Allura being pushed on a swing set by Alfor. One of the videos had Allura’s mother in it, too.

She was cradling Allura in her arms and singing quietly. Allura was quite young, between two and three, and the sound of her mother’s voice was putting her to sleep almost instantly. Shiro had never seen Allura’s mother before, not like this. He’d seen a photo here or there, but they didn’t quite capture her like the video did. Allura took after her mother quite heavily; they had the same smile and the same dark skin colour and the same big eyes. Her mother’s singing was sweet and soft, much like the way Shiro had overheard Allura singing when she thought no one was around to listen.

“She’s very beautiful,” he said, as he pulled Allura closer.

She leaned against him and hummed. Her eyes were on the screen, too. She didn’t look sad, just fond. “I never forgot what her voice sounded like.”

Shiro loved seeing the videos of Allura. He couldn’t help but wonder if any children Allura had would look as much like Allura as Allura did with her own mother. And if they were also _his_ kids, would they take much after him, too? Would they have her hair but his eyes? Or her eyes but his hair? Just thinking about it made him flustered beyond belief. 

“This was a good way to spend the evening,” he said, as he leaned down to press a kiss to Allura’s lips. “I really appreciate all the work you did.”

She smiled at him. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I like you more.”

She groaned, and turned her face away, embarrassed. “You have to stop using that line.”

He grinned. Teasingly, he pressed her back against the couch, and kissed her again. Her smile was endlessly sweet against his lips. “Why? It works.”

She laughed at him, and relented. “You know, I called your mother today, too,” she said.

He gave her a puzzled look.

It was her turn to grin, now. “She was more than willing to send me a few home videos of her own.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” Her grin grew wider. “Ready for round two?”


	179. Mother

For Mother’s Day, Shiro took his parents out for brunch. Allura joined them after she’d rang Alfor in the morning. On the way over to the café they were meeting his parents at, Shiro bought two bouquets of flowers; one for his own mother, and one for Allura’s. 

The day was a nice day. Winter was approaching full force but the café was heated, and the sun came out to join them for a little while. Luckily, there wasn’t any rain in sight. This café was his mother’s favourite because she loved the cinnamon French toast they did. It was what she ordered, and curious, Allura ordered the same. Shiro wasn’t as big a fan of sweet things as they were, so he and his father had something else.

His mother loved the flowers. He’d bought her a necklace and her favourite chocolates too, because they were things his mother liked to get on Mother’s Day. He liked spending time with his family like this, even if his mother took a lot of photos and constantly doted on him (really, the day should have been about her, but she insisted that wouldn’t be so without him). 

At least his mother was happy, he thought. They stayed at the café for tea after eating and chatted about anything that came to mind. Like usual, his parents were very interested in his work, and his mother was curious about how the home movies had fared (very embarrassingly. Shiro complained, but it just made his mother happier – she even promised to send Allura more).

At the end of the day, after they’d farewelled his parents and wished his mother a happy Mother’s Day, they stopped by to see Alfor and Coran. They were as much Allura’s parents as anyone, and even if they weren’t her mother, it was nice to see them on a day meant for family. 

They had a light dinner with Alfor and Coran. Neither Shiro nor Allura had seen Alfor in person for a while, so it was nice to catch up with him while he was in town again. Allura enjoyed it, too. They let Coran cook, and Alfor chose the wine to drink, though Shiro didn’t have any because he was driving.

They spoke about Allura’s mother for a while. Shiro listened to her, Alfor and Coran speak, and absorbed what they said. He wished he could have met the woman who captivated so many hearts. Still, he was glad he got to hear about her, about the way they remembered her. It felt special.

All in all, he thought it was a lovely way to spend Mother’s Day – with the people he loved most of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mother's Day ❤


	180. Stickers

“Okay, but what if I-?”

“No, Lance.”

“Not even a little?”

“Not even a little.”

Lance gave him the biggest pout he could, complete with puffed out cheeks and folded arms. He was really trying hard to convince Shiro to let him do what he wanted, but Shiro was adamant. He wasn’t going through that kind of embarrassment today.

“What if I just did _one?”_ Lance asked, as he held up one finger and tugged on the hem of Shiro’s shirt to keep his attention. “Just one, I promise.”

“Nope,” Shiro said, as he continued to wipe down one of the tables after the recent arts and crafts session. 

“Why not?” Lance whined.

“Because if you do one, then Keith will want to do one, and then Hunk and Pidge will want to do one, and then there won’t be just one anymore.”

Lance floundered for a moment, completely lost for words, before he started huffing again. It was really hard to resist such a sweet face, and Shiro was quickly losing his will. It was like Lance knew that he was weak to eyes that big and blue.

“Oh, I think you should just let them have their fun,” Allura said, grinning mischievously as she wandered past with a broom. “Don’t you think?”

He most certainly did not think that, but how could he say no now? That was two sets of blue eyes giving him imploring looks, and the thought that it was irrationally unfair flowed through him. It was with a begrudging sigh that he finally let Lance do what he wanted.

Lance let out an excited cheer and grabbed for the item they’d been arguing over. Clearly noticing his victory, the other kids crowded closer, and with Allura they debated over which to use first. Shiro took a seat at the table and laid out his right arm along its surface. He was utterly resigned to his fate.

“I think this one should go on first,” Allura said, as she pointed to the one she was talking about. She was already snickering.

“Oh, that’s a good one,” Lance agreed. He approached Shiro with it, and considered his arm with a contemplative look. After a moment, he decided.

The rainbow sticker was placed right below his elbow joint.

Shiro just groaned. 

Stickers. Stickers would be his downfall.

Following the rainbow sticker was a sticker of a dog with the words “good boy” printed beside it, and then a sticker of an apple with a worm peeking out of one side, and then a green dinosaur, and then a black cat doing yoga. He had no idea where the kids had found quite so many different sticker sheets, but they seemed impossibly endless.

“So much for just one, huh?” He said, as he watched the kids take turns decorating his prosthetic with stickers. Star stickers and fruit stickers and bird stickers soon followed the ones already there. God, he hoped they peeled off easily. He didn’t think he could walk around looking like his arm was a sticker book.

“It’s high-fashion,” Allura decided, much to the delight of the children. “What a wonderful idea, Lance.”

Lance gave her a broad, proud grin.

Shiro gave her a look that clearly said _you’re cleaning up this mess._

Even if it was a mess, he couldn’t help but enjoy himself. Knowing that the kids were having fun did that to him.


	181. Glittery

Predictably, the stickers were a pain to peel off. The thin adhesive on the back of them seemed to just love the metal of Shiro’s prosthetic arm, and even getting just one corner to peel back was more of a challenge than he alone could handle. Half of the stickers weren’t even in a position he could comfortably reach with his left arm.

He forced Allura to help him, though she wasn’t very begrudging. In fact, he thought she was rather amused by the entire process.

“I blame you entirely for this,” he informed her, not for the first time, as he watched her scratch away the white, papery residue left by a tough sticker.

“This was a brilliant idea,” Allura said. She hadn’t stopped grinning since the stickers started going on. “I think it’s my most brilliant one yet, actually. I have so many photos!”

He didn’t doubt that. After she’d placed her sticker on him (a glittery pink heart) she’d pulled out her phone and started snapping away. There must be enough photos on there to fill an entire photo album to the brim. He had no idea what she was going to do with them but he was certain a fair few would be going straight to his mother. 

“Just wait until the kids find the magnets,” Allura laughed, looking far too mischievous for the time of night it was. She managed to scrape away the last bits of the sticker she’d peeled off and moved onto the next. “Then they’ll have a real blast.”

Shiro just groaned, but he honestly didn’t mind. As long as the kids had fun, right? It wasn’t too harmful. At least, he hoped it wouldn’t be. He was briefly horrified at the thought of his specialist finding an errant sticker in the joint of his arms come his next check-up.

When most of the stickers were off, Shiro glanced over his arm. There were sticky spots everywhere that would probably only come out in the shower. He noticed only one last sticker remaining – the pink heart Allura had given him. She’d looked mighty proud of herself when she’d stuck it on his arm, and just thinking about how much she’d enjoyed herself with the kids made him smile.

“You can leave that one on there, if you want to,” he told her.

She gave him a bashful smile, and left it.


	182. Sneaky

Allura had decided, after going through his closet looking for a jacket she could wear, that he didn’t have enough winter clothes. He thought that that was only because she wore a lot of his jackets when they were at home and therefore many of them were in the wash, but she was adamant. 

“We should go clothes shopping next weekend,” she said, as she pulled one of his sweaters over her head. “You need more warm clothes, it’s getting colder outside now.”

He was watching her from their bed, an amused look on his face. It was Sunday morning, and she’d somehow managed to convince him to say in bed for a few extra hours. He felt drowsy and dishevelled with too much sleep, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. He was warm and pliant and willing to sleep again, despite how much he disliked getting up later in the day.

Allura seemed amused by his sleepiness. His sweater fell to mid-thigh on her, and drooped off of one shoulder, revealing a bra strap. She looked comfortable and fashionable, despite the fact that she’d only just woken up. He could almost be jealous, if he weren’t so sleepy.

“I might need more warm clothes too, come to think of it,” Allura mused, more to herself than to him, as she turned around to dig through their closet. Their bedroom was too small for them to each have a wardrobe, but sharing wasn’t so bad. Just a bit crowded, that’s all. It would be better if they could fit a chest of drawers in somewhere, but his mind was to sleep-muddled to think about that properly.

“I think you’ve got enough clothes,” he said.

She laughed. “Are you just saying that because you can’t think of anything else to say?”

He coloured.

She grinned. “Knew it.”

“I’m tired,” he complained. “You made me sleep.”

Allura closed the closet doors and squirmed her way back beneath the bedsheets. Her clothes were cold from being in the closet, but they warmed quickly as she cuddled up beside him, urging him flat against the pillows. “You’re cute when you’re sleepy like this,” she told him, as she laid on his chest to press a kiss against his lips.

He hummed at her. “Sure I am.”

“You are!” She insisted, laughing again. “Your cheeks are all red and your hair is all fluffy. Just look at this mess,” she said, as she drove her fingers through the longest part of his hair at the top of his head. That unfortunate white streak he had (from stress, his doctors assured him, it wasn’t a sign of him dying) was the main target of her attack. 

“Am not."

“You are,” she said, as she kissed him again, “and you know I’m going to win this argument.”

“Only because I’m tired,” he half-heartedly complained. 

She gave him a victorious grin. When she kissed him for the third time, he finally responded, though he was certainly not as enthusiastic as usual. It seemed that Allura didn’t mind all that much, though; he tilted his head to the side and sighed when her lips found his neck. She was very affectionate that morning. 

“Why am I the sleepy one today?” He said, voice noticeably gruffer than it had been before. “This is entirely your fault.”

She smiled. “Who says this wasn’t my plan all along? Now I’m the tough guy.”

He snorted. “I’m totally the tough guy.”

“Oh? Are you sure?”

Not one to leave such a challenge unanswered, he suddenly rolled her over so that he was the one leaning above her. “I’m sure.”

Her smile broadened. They weren’t in the most graceful of positions – his elbow was on her hair and her shoulders were hunched up and he was sure they were both sporting a chin more than usual – but he thought he’d never seen her smile a more beautiful smile than that. “Who says this wasn’t a part of my plan, too?”

Really, she was going to be the death of him. He groaned, and collapsed against her, growing a smile when she let out an exaggerated winded noise. “You’re far too sneaky this morning,” he told her frankly. She seemed to have a way of getting everything she wanted from him, but he found that he didn’t mind too much, not when it was her. He’d give her anything.

“I think I’m _just_ sneaky enough.”


	183. Looks

They did end up going clothes shopping, much to Shiro’s amusement. Allura was keen on finding a new jacket for the both of them, and maybe a scarf. It was getting quite cold now, so he wasn’t too miffed by going out. He had never particularly enjoyed shopping for clothes, but Allura liked it, so he went along with her.

“Do you know what sort of jacket you’re looking for?” He asked, as they walked hand-in-hand through the store.

“Not at all,” she said. “I’ll see what’s here.”

Shiro laughed quietly. Allura had a good taste for clothes so he had no doubt she’d find something that suited her perfectly. She’d likely pick out something for him, too; she seemed to know him better than he did, and if he were being honest, he liked letting her choose what he bought. If he really didn’t like it then he wouldn’t buy it, but more often than not she choose quite tasteful things for him to try on.

For the most part, they had a pretty peaceful time out. Even though the shops were rather crowded on the weekend, he still felt like they had space for themselves, and they didn’t have any mishaps other than getting lost for a moment on a floor they hadn’t explored before. 

While Allura went to use the bathroom, Shiro bought them lunch. There was a sandwich shop in the food court that they both liked, so he ordered their favourites, paid, and patiently waited for the food. He expected Allura to be back before their food arrived, but that wasn’t the case. With their sandwiches in hand, he went looking for her.

He wasn’t pleased with what he found.

Allura was backed up near a wall in the corridor leading to the bathrooms. She had a pinched look on her face, and a tenseness in her shoulders that was making her seem smaller and stiffer than usual. There were two people standing in front of her, both male, both taller. They almost leered over her, and whatever they were saying was clearly not something she liked.

“There you are, Allura,” he said, as he forced his way to her side. He was more than satisfied to discover he was the tallest person there. He passed her their food and put his arm low around her waist. He hated making her seem like she needed help, but he hated the thought of her getting harassed more. “I was wondering where you went.”

“Sorry.” Her smile was strained. “I didn’t mean to take so long.”

If looks could be poisonous, then the one he shot at the people harassing her certainly was. Maybe they could tell she was taken, or maybe they could tell he wasn’t the type of person who liked to argue, but they didn’t do anything more than catcall as he lead her straight past them. He didn’t want the problem to escalate, and making a hasty retreat back into the crowded food court was the best thing he could think of to do.

“Are you alright?” He asked her, as they found a found to themselves.

“Fine,” she said, with a long exhale. “I just didn’t know what to do.”

“As long as you’re alright, it’s fine,” he said, as he reached for her hand. “Nothing to worry about.”

Her relieved smile soothed his heart. 

Their day progressed as if nothing had ever happened. Allura’s tension eased until she almost seemed to forget about what had happened, like it didn’t even occur to her that it was something to worry over anymore. Seeing her put it behind her so easily reassured him, too.

They did end up finding jackets and scarves. When Allura was satisfied they’d survive the coming winter, they headed on home, all prior incidents of the day easily forgotten.


	184. Petulant

Keith was sick. Shiro had expected the kids to catch colds eventually now that winter was around the corner, but he was surprised that Keith was the first to start sniffling. It was strange to see him so quiet. He’d thought that Keith would be alright for the day considering it hadn’t seemed like the cold had taken a hold of him properly, but that hadn’t been the case.

By midday he was miserable. The heater was on inside but Keith was still shivering; he was wearing his outdoor coat and his beanie pulled over the tips of his ears but it didn’t seem to be doing him any good. He was bundled up on one of the beanbags in the recreation room, alone. He’d been falling in and out of a fitful sleep all morning, so Shiro had sent the other kids out hoping that Keith would settle. He’d even draped his jacket across Keith when he couldn’t stop shivering.

He’d already called Keith’s parents, but neither would be able to pick him up until mid-afternoon because of work commitments. Shiro knew Keith was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, so he tried to ease Keith as much as he could until his parents arrived to take him home.

Lance wasn’t too happy at being separated from Keith. He moped for a solid hour and lingered around the recreation room door, even daring to peek in when he knew he wasn’t meant to. Shiro didn’t want him to get sick too, so he didn’t let Lance stay with Keith, even if it seemed unfair to keep them apart. Even Allura was giving Lance pitiful looks every now and then.

But it was for the best. The adults at the kindergarten had to be extra careful to make sure all the kids didn’t get sick; they wiped down surfaces with bacterial wipes and had extra tissues out and cleaned the cups and plates with water that was a lot hotter than usual. They had these little signs up next to sinks teaching kids how to properly wash their hands, and everyone was required to bring jackets and scarves for outdoor play (if they forget, the kindergarten had extra that were religiously washed and dried after every use). 

When Shiro brought Keith another cup of water, he found that Keith had woken up again, and was petulantly glaring at the wall ahead of him. His nose was red and his cheeks were flushed. He’d pulled Shiro’s jacket over him like a blanket.

“How are you feeling, buddy?” He asked, as he crouched in front of Keith, who only gave him a muffled grunt in reply. He held the water to Keith’s lips and had him drink at least half of it before setting it aside. Keith’s forehead was damp with sweat when he pressed his hand against it, checking for a temperature. It seemed like the water was holding it off for now.

“I don’t feel well,” Keith mumbled, unhappy. He stuck his arms out, so Shiro carefully picked him up, and let Keith curl into his shoulder. He adjusted his jacket over Keith to keep his back warm and started to pace the room with slow, even steps. Keith was still fighting sleep, but it was a battle he was losing.

When he eventually did succumb to sleep, his fingers didn’t loosen around Shiro’s clothes like he’d expected they would. Shiro had planned to set Keith back down on the beanbag, but that wasn’t a viable option anymore, so he settled for walking around. Keith’s parents should be here shortly, and if Keith could manage to stay asleep until that happened, it would be for the best.

He hoped Keith felt better soon.


	185. Ticklish

Shiro hadn’t done it intentionally. In fact, it had been rather accidental – but the sound of Allura’s laughter had reminded him of a similar incident earlier that day, at Altea Kindergarten. 

The kids liked to wrestle a lot. And by kids, he mostly meant Keith and Lance. They rough-housed and had competitions regularly, so it wasn’t unusual to hear a burst of laughter when one managed to wiggle their fingers into the ticklish spot of the other. As long as they didn’t end up hurting each other Shiro didn’t mind too much.

Hearing Allura laugh like she was then reminded him of that. They were sitting on the couch, and although he was relaxed after a long day of work and a nice dinner, Allura was bored. She’d rearranged him how she wanted although he’d groaned every time she did. Eventually he was sitting upright against the couch, and she was between his legs, resting against him as if he were an armchair. 

He hadn’t meant to, but he’d accidentally prodded Allura in just the right place, and she’d burst out laughing in a way she’d never done before. He’d never considered that she’d be ticklish, or that she wouldn’t be, but either way the revelation certainly surprised him.

“Shiro!” She said sharply in that way people who knew that were at a disadvantage did. “Don’t even think about it, mister.”

A slow grin stretched across his face. He still had a tight grip on Allura’s waist, and now that he knew she was ticklish, he felt much more awake. “Why not?” He asked, as he applied a bit of pressure.

Allura squirmed, biting off another laugh. “Shiro!” She complained. 

“What? I’m not doing anything,” he said, as he wriggled his fingers against her sides. There was a little dip just above her hip bones and slightly to the back that made her jerk. Her laughter was uncontrollable, and even though he wasn’t the one being tickled, it made him laugh too. Allura’s cheeks went red and her eyes watered as she laughed.

“Shiro, stop, stop! I give up!” She gasped, as she pushed his hands away.

He was still laughing as he finally relented. He pulled her back against the couch and waited for her panting to die down.

“You’re the worst,” she declared, as she slumped against him.

“Oh? Am I?”

“Definitely,” she continued. “Exploiting my weakness like that. You’re not even ticklish so I can’t get you back.”

He snorted. He wasn’t ticklish at all, no matter how hard Allura tried. He did get shivers when she ran her fingers down his neck or played with his hair, but that was normal, wasn’t it? At least, he thought so.

“Don’t tell the kids I’m ticklish,” Allura warned him, her voice teasing. “I have to seem tough in front of them, you know.”

“I won’t, I won’t,” he assured her, as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You’re my tough princess.”

She grinned. “Of course I am.”


	186. Fireworks

There was a fireworks festival a few weeks after Keith had gotten sick. Shiro only knew about it because Keith’s mother mentioned it; that she was glad her child had caught the cold and gotten over it at the start of winter, rather than midway or at the end. That way he was less likely to catch another one, and he could see the fireworks he adored. 

He and Allura decided to go. They dressed warmly – he wore his new jacket for the first time, and made sure to wind a scarf around Allura’s neck so that she didn’t forget. He’d never been to a fireworks festival before, and hadn’t even known there was one so close to where he lived and worked. There would be food stalls and games and live music, and then at the end of the night – once at seven and again at nine – there would be a fireworks display.

He was eager to go.

The show was held at a large sports field just under an hour’s drive away from their home. Shiro drove, and found a parking spot on a gravelled lot amongst dozens of other cars. Winter meant that the sun set early, but huge spotlights and the saturated glows from rides was more than enough to see by. 

“Wow, look at all the lights,” Allura said, as she craned her head back to watch one of the rides go up and up and up, dotted with flashing bulbs of colourful light and full of screaming laughter. There was a reflection in her eyes of it that he was just close enough to see. “I haven’t been to a place like this in years.”

“Me either,” Shiro said. He took her hand in his and began to lead her to the entrance. The festival had no entry fee, but they could buy tickets for rides, and tokens for food. Neither one of them were particularly keen on the rides (the festival was small, so the rides were more suited to children than adults of their size anyway) but there were other games and food they could enjoy.

It was the food that attracted Shiro first. He could smell it on the air; the sugary sweetness of churros and fairy floss mixing with hot chips and hamburgers. It was a strange mixture, tinged with cold night air and the sweat from many bodies packed together, but it struck him with a sense of nostalgia that he hadn’t felt in a while. 

“It’s a nice night, huh?” He said to no one in particular.

Allura only smiled, and squeezed his hand.

They’d had something to eat before going out, so they skipped the hot food, and shared a stick of fairy floss and a little paper bag of freshly made churros between them instead. 

While they ate, they wandered around to look at the stalls. Allura played a game where she had to fish up a little rubber duck with a small plastic fishing rod. The duck had a number printed on the bottom which corresponded to a prize; she won a tiny teddy bear with a big silk ribbon tied around its neck. 

She managed to convince Shiro to do one of the shooting games, where he was given a water gun slightly too small for his hands and tasked with shooting down a moving target. He thought it would have been harder than it looked, but he did win a prize – a rainbow-coloured slinky. He could already see how much fun Balmera was going to have chasing it around the house.

When it was time for the fireworks show, they went to find a spot for themselves on the field. It was dark, save for the lights in the centre where the technicians were working. A community building separated the rides and the stalls from the field, casting them in cold darkness. Somehow, it made him feel excited. The fireworks would be really bright here.

The grass was dewy with cold, but not unpleasantly so. They’d chosen a spot farther away from the rest of the crowd, and even though it was darker, they still had a clear view of the field where the fireworks would be let off.

“I don’t think I’ve seen fireworks since I was younger, aside from watching them on New Year’s television,” Shiro told her. Not since the accident, anyway. He couldn’t remember seeing them after it; he’d never had the urge to. 

Allura drew small patterns on the palm of his hand. She was sitting on his right side, and had his right hand. He watched her fingers, only just visible in the low-light. He couldn’t feel a thing, but in that moment, it didn’t bother him. “Do you think you’ll be okay with the noise?” She suddenly asked him.

His eyes widened. _The noise?_ He turned to look at her, but was abruptly startled by the bang of a firework shooting into the sky. It made him jump, made smoke and burning metal flash behind his eyes. Another firework dazzled the night sky, followed by more and more, but as each bang swelled over him, his panic slowly dissipated. 

The colours of the fireworks were beautiful. Golds, reds, blues and stunning silvers adorned the night sky like dyed stars, only lingering for a few short moments before they fizzled into ash. From the distance he sat he couldn’t see nor feel the ash falling from the sky, but he knew it was there. 

“Shiro?” Allura asked.

“I’m alright,” he said, as he squeezed her hand, “it just caught me off guard.” More than that, he was surprised Allura had thought about the noise when even he hadn’t. There weren’t many things that sent him into a spiralling memory of his accident anymore. Not thunder, not a car backfiring on a quiet street, or even the sound of fireworks going off. Before he’d fully recovered, even footsteps pressed a little too hard against the ground had made him flinch, the ghost of an ache stinging him in an arm he no longer had.

But this felt different. He was okay. He was okay.

Allura rested her cheek against his shoulder. Her eyes had finally gone from him to the fireworks, and they settled in to enjoy them. He’d have to thank her later, for caring about him so much that she’d realised the fireworks might be a little too much like an exploding fighter plane. At one point, they wouldn’t have been, but now, they were only fireworks. 

“Only fireworks, huh…” He murmured to himself. 

“Only fireworks,” Allura told him.

He rested his chin against her head, and smiled to himself, just a little. He was okay.


	187. Coincidence

They decided not to stay for the nine o’clock fireworks. Neither Shiro nor Allura particularly wanted to linger for another two hours, so they gathered their things and started to make their way back through the festival grounds. Shiro held onto Allura’s hand with his left one, uncaring that her palm was sweaty (his was a little sweaty, too).

As they were walking past the brightly coloured stalls, a familiar face emerged. Keith and Lance, accompanied by Keith’s mother, were standing together ahead of them, sharing a snow cone drenched in blue and red flavouring. 

The kids caught sight of him only moments after he’d noticed them. Lance’s eyes widened with surprise before he was darting over, a wide grin on his face, leaving Keith to scramble after him with their snow cone clutched in both hands. “Shiro!” Lance exclaimed, as he threw himself at Shiro’s legs. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

Shiro laughed, and bent down to scoop Lance up. “What a coincidence,” he said with a smile. Keith gave him an expectant look so Shiro adjusted his hold on Lance and picked Keith up, too. It was a bit of a struggle, but it would only be for a moment, so he dealt with it. “Have you both enjoyed the festival?”

“A lot,” Lance said as he nodded his head in a rather excited manner. “Did you see the fireworks? I watched them with Keith just before.”

“Yeah, I did,” Shiro said. “I watched them with Allura.”

“Oh!” Lance’s eyes sparkled, and he leaned across so that Allura had to take him, instead. “Did you like the fireworks too, Allura?”

“I sure did,” she grinned. “They’re quite wonderful.”

Lance giggled. “They are!”

“Did you have fun as well, Keith?” Shiro asked, as Lance occupied himself with bombarding questions at Allura. 

Keith nodded. He watched Lance for a moment, before finally turning his attention to Shiro. “Lance is staying over at my house tonight, so my Mother said we could come here, like we usually do.”

Speaking of Keith’s mother, Shiro spotted her at the end of the aisle, and waved her over before she could think her kids had gone running off somewhere they weren’t meant to go. She came over to speak to them for a while, which was quiet nice. Her husband hadn’t gone with them, but she’d had the kids as company for the evening. Shiro could only imagine all the running around she must have had to do to keep up with the both of them.

After wishing the children goodnight, Shiro and Allura were off. Shiro waved back at Lance and Keith until he could no longer see them, and let out a small, content sigh. It was always a strange thing to see the kids outside of the kindergarten. When he met them like he did just then, he wasn’t their teacher or their carer anymore. He was just Shiro, their friend.

It was nice to have a change like that every now and then. The kids seemed to like it, too. They were always cheekier when they weren’t in class. He could only imagine the stories they were going to tell come Monday morning.

Oddly enough, it made him smile.


	188. Slinky

Like Shiro had thought, the slinky went down wonderfully with Balmera. After he and Allura had arrived home from the fireworks festival and ate a small dinner, they carried on with their nightly routines. Shiro had the first shower while Allura washed the dishes. He put them away while she used the bathroom next, and then with some time to spare, he’d gotten the slinky and went to find his cat.

Expectedly, Balmera had been lounging in one of his favourite nap spots. Shiro had found him on the back of the main lounge this time. The cat also liked to sit on top of the refrigerator, in his bed, under Allura’s side of their own bed, and sometimes in an open drawer if they happened to forget to close it. Tonight though, he was using his most average spot.

The slinky made clicking, plastic noises as Shiro spread it between his hands. It caught Balmera’s attention, who lifted his ears and flicked the tip of his tail. Shiro sat cross-legged on the floor and began to roll the slinky. It jumped from end to end, making a rainbow of colours with its spiralling shape. Shiro hadn’t played with one of these things since his age was a single digit, he was sure.

Balmera was certainly interested. He’d lurched upright, paws tucked together, back arched as he watched the slinky slide across the floor. His pupils had gone all big and dark the way a cats’ pupils did when they were definitely intrigued with what they were seeing.

“Want to play, Balmera?” He asked, amused, as he watched Balmera watch the slinky. He was sure to keep it moving, knowing that the cat was only mere moments away from lunging at it.

Sure enough, the next time he stretched the slinky, the cat jumped after it. Shiro snatched his hands back as Balmera thumped against the ground, slinky clutched in his paws. He seemed surprised by the way the slinky moved, and as the other end slunk away from him, he jumped after it, too.

And then Balmera was gone, frantically chasing the slinky through the doorframe and into the hallway. Shiro leaned back on his hands, laughing to himself. Balmera, when he could be coaxed, was very playful. Sometimes he got into things he shouldn’t (like Shiro’s underwear and Allura’s bras) but when he played with the things he should, it was very funny to watch.

A moment later, he heard Allura exit the bathroom. The click of the bathroom door was a familiar noise, just like the sound of the kettle rattling to completion and the thumps of Balmera’s paws against the wooden floors and the way the bed creaked when he rolled over to turn off his alarm before it woke Allura. 

“Shiro?” She called, as he stood.

“Yeah?”

“Why is my cat tangled in your slinky?”


	189. Curtains

As winter started to chill the kindergarten, Shiro helped Coran and Allura rearrange the interior of the building. The changes were only small, but they were put in place to help insulate the building when the cold really started to seep in.

They had thicker curtains to insulate the windows and a rug for the recreation room floor, to start with. He hadn’t known that those at Altea were so particular about those sorts of things. He liked it, though. The curtains went up at the window and there were other, smaller rugs for the tiled floors in the bathrooms as well as in the foyer. They’d get dirty, but it wouldn’t be as cold in those rooms, which was the point in the first place. He thought that it made Altea Kindergarten feel much more homely, like all they needed was a fireplace and they’d be straight out of a postcard.

“We start to serve hot lunches, too,” Allura told him when he mentioned it. He was helping her heave one of the thick curtains up over the windows. 

“Does Coran make them?”

“Of course,” Allura said, laughing quietly. “He makes things likes grilled cheese, boiled vegetables, macaroni, noodles… the kids usually enjoy it a lot. It’s harder to convince them to eat hot food during summer, so sandwiches and salads usually suffice. Coran always gets more creative with hot food.”

Shiro laughed too. “I hope he doesn’t experiment too much.”

“Oh, he does,” Allura informed him. She sounded rather grave, but he knew she was only teasing. “He rather likes coming up with new soup flavours, though my father doesn’t let him serve them to the children without a taste test first.”

“So he sacrifices himself, huh?”

“I suppose so,” Allura grinned. “My father doesn’t dislike Coran’s cooking as much as I do, though. He’s always eager to try out Coran’s creations.”

“He is?”

Allura nodded. “Half the time it tastes good, apparently. I don’t trust my father’s tastebuds though, not after all the years he’s been subjected to Coran’s cooking. My mother always told him that his sense of taste would become warped if he kept testing all of Coran’s experiments... I’m sure she turned out to be correct, you know.”

Shiro laughed. He could just imagine all the times Alfor had tried out Coran’s crazy experiments. He was quite glad he hadn’t been subjected to them, yet, even if some did happen to turn out tasty. 

“Don’t worry,” Allura teased, as they finally finished hanging up the last curtain. “I’ll protect you from Coran’s cooking, Shiro.”


	190. Chill

For some reason completely unclear to him, Shiro suddenly woke in the middle of the night. Any remnants of a dream quickly slipped away from him, as if a breeze had blown away the last of a cold morning’s fog. He tried to fall back asleep for a while, but when it continued to evade him, he restlessly snuck out of bed, and made his way into the kitchen.

It was as he was drinking down a glass of water that it occurred to him – how familiar he had become with this house. He hadn’t turned any of the lights on for fear of waking Allura, and even though it was incredibly dark, he hadn’t bumped into anything. He knew his way around without having to think about it, could remember that Allura thrown her jacket onto the stool at the kitchen bench but it’d slipped off onto the floor, could remember that they’d moved the table a little further away from the wall, could remember how far he needed to turn the tap to get a small stream of water. 

It was home, and it made him happy.

But it did make him wonder if they would be moving soon. They’d been together for more than a year now, and although it didn’t sound like long, it felt like forever. He was so in love with her that he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else or having anyone else in his heart like Allura was. Down the line, if they did have kids, they’d need a bigger house. Something with a yard, if they could find that. He wondered if she’d want a one story or a two story house. Would she want something that could be fixed, or something ready to move into? He knew that they both would love to stay in this area. If they saved up, they could definitely afford a deposit on a house.

He took another half-glass of water out onto the balcony to sit. The air was especially cold that night, and although it made him shiver, he didn’t hate it. There was a quiet jingle; Panther leapt up onto the table beside him, the bell around his neck glinting. He didn’t meow or butt his head against Shiro for attention, not the way Balmera did. Instead he patiently waited for Shiro to lift a hand so that he could get a scratch behind the ear. Shiro wasn’t surprised to find him outside, even though it was so cold – he’d returned for dinner, but left again when his bowl was mostly empty. Some nights he couldn’t be tempted inside.

“I wonder if you’ll be able to adjust to a new home alright,” Shiro said, as he absentmindedly scratched behind Panther’s ears, just like he knew the cat liked. It had taken a while for Panther to grow used to Shiro’s presence, but that was just in Panther’s nature. 

He finished his water and went back inside. He was probably only out there for ten minutes, but he felt chilled all over. Panther had wandered back off after a few minutes, his sleek fur blending into the dark shadows.

When Shiro eventually made his way back into the bedroom, Allura was sitting up, rubbing her knuckles into her eyes. “Where’d you go?” She asked, voice rough with sleep.

“Just for water,” he told her, as he slipped back beneath the covers. “Sorry for waking you.”

“Shiro, you’re freezing!” Allura exclaimed, much more awake as she pressed her hand to his shoulder. “Did you go outside?”

“Only for a little bit,” he said. He clutched her hand and let her sleep-warmed skin chase the chill away from his fingers. “Don’t worry, I just couldn’t sleep, that’s all.”

She seemed hesitant, but he wasn’t upset, and he wasn’t hurt, so she slowly relaxed. “At least get under the covers properly,” she told him, as she laid back down.

He laughed quietly, and did as he was told. It was certainly much nicer under the blankets, and even though she grumbled about it, Allura was more than willing to pull him into her arms to help warm him up. It wasn’t hard to find sleep again.


	191. Ready

One of Allura’s friends were celebrating a birthday one evening. Shiro had met them a few times since that wedding last year, when they’d been introduced, just like how Allura had met his friends (well, she had met Matt). The birthday was held at a classy diner, and Shiro was invited as Allura’s plus-one.

“They just want a chance to fawn over you again,” Allura had told him after he’d agreed to go with her. “And I want a chance to show you off, of course.”

He’d been flustered at that, but sort of pleased, too. He liked that Allura liked being with him enough to bring him places with her friends. It was nice to go out with other people, too. He’d forgotten what socialising felt like since his accident, and although he was still sort of awkward and quiet around strangers, he did have fun on nights out. A diner was a perfect place to go.

For the dinner, he dressed casually. He thought it was much easier for a male to dress up than it was for a female; he spent half an hour in the bathroom showering and getting dressed and he was ready to go. Allura, however, struggled a lot more. She wasn’t sure what dress to wear (though she ended up choosing the one he’d bought her a short while ago), and then she wasn’t sure about shoes, and what to do with her hair. He was never quite sure how to help her when she was getting ready, or if he was able to in the first place.

Sometimes it was easier to let Allura go through her entire closet before she decided to wear the first thing she’d picked out.

“I think you’ll look beautiful no matter what you wear,” he’d told her, as she’d flittered from the bathroom and their bedroom and then back again. She’d smiled at him, and seemed less nervous after that. He only spoke the truth when it came to her, after all – she really was beautiful in anything she chose to wear. 

While Allura was doing her hair (she was either brushing or braiding it now, maybe even both, but he couldn’t be quite sure) Shiro fed the cats and locked up the house for the evening. Allura had been able to coax Panther inside that now, and he was fast asleep on his towel, looking like nothing in the world could possibly ever bother him. 

Getting ready always seemed like an event in their household.


	192. Eyeliner

Shiro had been thinking about his and Allura’s routines for a while now. Combined with his thoughts about a bigger house and marriage were his thoughts for their domestic rituals and exactly how they managed to function around each other. Allura usually took longer to get ready – and she put far more effort into her appearance than he did – but there were things that had him curious.

Her incredible fashion sense was beyond him, but maybe her makeup routine wouldn’t be.

From what he could tell after watching Allura for quite a while, her makeup routine varied depending on several things. One was what she intended to do for the day, and another was how much time she had to get ready in the morning. They were very obvious things, he thought, now that he’d realising they were facts Allura took into consideration.

It was one morning when she was getting ready for the day that she finally caught him watching her. They weren’t going out or anything, but Allura was trying out a new look. At least, that was what Shiro thought from watching her fiddle around with her makeup. He’d grown used to her routine, and although he wasn’t quite sure what products she was using, he knew that this one was out of order.

“Is something the matter?” Allura asked, as she peered over her shoulder at him.

He jumped at being caught, flustered by the question. He’d been watching her from behind the bathroom doorway, but she’d spotted him in the mirror peeking in at her. “N-no, I’m just… What are you doing?” He managed to force out.

“Just practising,” she said, as she waved a sort of pencil at him. “Why?”

He shrugged, lost for words. He hadn’t thought this far ahead. Was it weird to tell her that he liked watching her put makeup on? He just had no idea how it worked, and that made him curious. 

Allura had a knowing look in her eyes. She turned to lean against the sink, an eyebrow quirked. “Have you always watched me put makeup on?”

“Just recently,” he admitted. “There’s not much else for me to do when I’m waiting to go.”

She laughed, amused by his bashfulness. “I don’t mind, you know,” she said. “I don’t expect you to just sit around while I take forever getting ready.”

That relieved him a little.

“Have you ever worn makeup?” She asked.

“No,” he said, surprised by the question.

“Want to try some?”

 

As it turned out, there were quite a number of different products Allura used. They sat on the bedroom floor with her makeup bag’s contents tipped out beside them. Makeup turned out to be a very personal art, and so she had her legs tossed over his thighs and her hands constantly touching or prodding at his face.

For work, her makeup routine was quite minimal. She explained to him what she wore – a light foundation, and some mascara. It made her eyes look brighter, apparently. When they went out, she wore a lot more – things like eyeliner, blush, highlighter… Shiro didn’t know what half of it did, but he knew she looked beautiful with and without makeup, so he let her chatter away about it and did his best to keep up.

“Okay, now look up,” Allura said, as she carefully rested her hand against his cheekbone. “Try not to move too much.”

He did as he was asked with a small amount of apprehension. He had no idea what she was doing, but she’d called it “winged eyeliner”. It made him nervous to have a pencil and a brush so close to his eye. How did she stand it? Didn’t her hands get shaky?

“Don’t worry, I won’t jab you in the eye,” Allura said.

“It’s creepy how you keep reading my mind like that.”

“It’s written all over your face, love.”

He huffed. She scolded him for moving, so he went still again. “I don’t think it’ll look that good on me,” he said. 

“You’ll look great,” she told him, confident. “You have really nicely shaped eyes.”

“I do?” He’d always thought his eyes were a little small. His mother was Japanese, after all, and a lot of his facial features he inherited from her side of the family. It had never really been something he’d thought about, though. 

“Definitely. Plus your skin is unfairly smooth, so that works in your favour too.”

He touched his chin ruefully. He’d shaved the day before, but stubble had already started to grow in. The men from his mother’s side of the family didn’t grow facial hair as fast as he did even if it wasn’t thick, so he blamed his father’s genetics for that. 

“Alright, look at me properly for a moment,” Allura demanded.

Shiro met her eyes.

She grinned at him. “Perfect! See, I told you the eyeliner gel goes on really smoothly. I used to use pencils, and they’re good for marking out where you’re going to draw the line, but the gel just moves so easily.”

He nodded, although he had no idea what she was talking about. It almost seemed like the same thing to him, though he knew it certainly wasn’t. The eyeliner made his skin feel strangely cold as it dried. He worried that if he sneezed it would suddenly smudge and he’d look vaguely like a racoon.

“Now for the other eye,” Allura said, as she turned his face to the side. “Same steps as before, Shiro.”

He let her do it. This sort of attention felt kind of good, even if the feel of the brush on his eyelid made him flinch every now and then. It reminded him of when Allura would run her fingers through his hair or trace nonsensical patterns on his back. 

When Allura was done, she leaned back to survey her work, and then gave him a nod. “All done.” She set her eyeliner aside and picked up a hand mirror, which she turned towards him. “What do you think?”

He peered at himself. She’d lined his eyelids with the black product, but the ends extended past the outer corner of his eyes, just like little wings. The change that eyeliner made to his face was quite surprising. His eyes looked both bigger and brighter even though nothing in him had changed. “I like it,” he said, when words finally came back to him. “It’s different.”

She tilted her head around the mirror to shoot him a grin. “You look handsome!”

He smiled. He liked spending time with her like this, though he did wonder how exactly to get the eyeliner off. “Makeup seems quite difficult,” he told her.

“It is, but once you get the hang of it, it’s quite fun. Like a hobby.” She set the mirror down and packed up all her things into her makeup bag. “Kind of pricey, though.”

“Well, if you like it, it’s worth it, isn’t it?”

Allura laughed. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I am, I’m always right,” he teased. He’d had her say the same words to him dozens of times when she had undoubtedly proven herself to be correct.

“Alright now, Princess,” Allura counted, “your head will be too big to get through the door if you keep up that attitude.”

Shiro laughed. “You’re the princess, though,” he said.

She snorted, but still seemed amused by his antics. She held up a packet of makeup wipes. “Want me to take it off now?”

“No, no, I’m getting used to it now,” he said. “I want to see how long it lasts.”

“Ah, a true makeup guru in the making,” she said, laughing, as she patted his cheek. “Just remind me to take it off you before you sleep. You’ll ruin your skin if you leave it on.” She leaned forwards to press a kiss to his lips. “You really do look handsome.”

He grinned at her. “Thanks, Princess.”


	193. Sleepwear

“Winter is perfect for pyjama day, Shiro.”

“If you say so.”

Allura grinned at him. She’d somehow managed to convince Coran to let them have another pyjama day, which the children were quite excited about. Shiro was apprehensive, as always, about wearing something other than normal clothes to work. After spending years religiously wearing a strict uniform, he still had yet to get the hang of “civilian clothes”, as they used to put it in the Garrison. 

Considering how cold it was outside, Shiro wore thicker pyjamas to work. He still wore pants and a loose shirt to sleep, but to work he wore a warmer sweater, instead. It was plain and sort of hung off him (something of a feat itself what with his shoulders) so he thought it counted as pyjamas.

Allura wore the pyjamas she used at home. They were comfortable pants and a long-sleeved pyjama shirt with a cute, pink pattern. He was astounded that she somehow managed to look fashionable even in sleepwear. 

As they arrived at the kindergarten, Shiro was almost glad it was pyjama day. The weather outside was miserable; rain and wind brought a chill in through every open crack. The extra-warm clothing felt comforting; it felt almost like a sleepover when Shiro, Allura and Coran finally finished dragging out the beanbags, blankets and pillows into the main room. Aside from the lessons and activities they had planned, there would also be the typical pyjama-day fun – movie watching pillow fighting and board games. The kids were sure to have fun.

Expectedly, the children all arrived dressed in their pyjamas, just like they had last time. Shiro wasn’t surprised to see that Lance and Keith had matching blue and red pyjamas. They all seemed to enjoy dressing up, even if he thought it was technically dressing down, for days like this. He enjoyed it too, even if he did complain a little.

Towards mid-afternoon, the wind outside really started to kick up. Rain splattered the windows, and although there were thick curtains hiding it, it was impossible not to hear the noise of the storm. Shiro was in the recreation room with the kids watching a movie, and while they were mostly distracted, there were still some worried glances aimed at the windows. Most of the kids were getting used to experiencing storms away from their parents now, but he didn’t think they were quite old enough to shake those worries away just yet.

For the most part, though, the kids were happy to focus on the movie. Lance and Keith were bickering with each other as they shared a beanbag; Shiro wasn’t quite sure what it was about this time, perhaps who was going to go get a drink for them both first, but it was light-hearted anyway. Pidge and Hunk were sharing a beanbag too, and while Pidge was focused entirely on the movie, it seemed like Hunk had fallen asleep, cocooned under a yellow blanket. 

Shiro tucked him in a little more, checked to see if any of the kids in the room wanted a drink of juice, and went to get some for those who answered positively. 

All in all, it was a nice way to spend the day.


	194. Planned

Allura had something planned. Shiro didn’t know what, but he was certain that she was up to something, something she wanted to keep incredibly secretive. She’d gone out the other evening without him, which in itself wasn’t a bad thing, but she would usually tell him what she’d be up to. This time, however, she’d dodged his questions and given him nothing but teasing smiles.

He thought it might have had something to do with the kids or the kindergarten, but when he’d asked Coran, they’d both come to the same conclusion: neither one of them knew what Allura was hiding. It only made Shiro more curious. What could she be planning that had to be so secret? It was undoubtedly a surprised for them – he’d heard of the things she’d come up with before, like pyjama day, for example – but he had no clue what it could be this time.

Of course, he didn’t have to wait long. Allura was never one to dally with things, and soon enough, her smile took on a rather bright, noticeable cheeriness. If he hadn’t known her so well, perhaps he wouldn’t have noticed how she suddenly looked so victorious. She even willingly woke up early the next morning, which was something she never did. She was definitely excited about something important to her. He only raised a brow at her, hoping for a hint, but she was as tight-lipped about her secret as ever.

“It’s going to be a surprise, Shiro,” she told him when he tried to wheedle the answer out of her, “a surprise!”

“I worry about your surprises sometimes,” he replied, pouting in a way that would probably make Lance proud. “I’m your boyfriend, why can’t I know the secret?”

“Because it’s a secret for you too, silly,” she told him, as she pressed a soft kiss against his lips. They both still had to get ready for the morning – Shiro had showered, but Allura hadn’t, and neither of them had had breakfast yet – but he couldn’t help but return her kiss. She was always very sweet in the morning after she’d been given a chance to wake up and shake away the last remnants of sleep from her mind.

“I’m excited to see what it is,” he told her.

“Good,” she said, proud of herself. “You and everyone else will love to see what it is, I’m certain!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like usual, I'm always incredibly exhausted on a Tuesday, so this is all I could manage ^^" Allura's surprise will be next chapter~


	195. Starlight

When he arrived at the kindergarten, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He turned the car into the adjacent parking lot and used one of the spots reserved for staff members. Allura was exceptionally cheerful as they made their way into the building. Coran had already arrived, like usual, and Shiro thought maybe that might have ruined whatever surprise Allura had, but she seemed as confident as ever.

“Good morning, Allura, Shiro,” Coran called over his shoulder as he heard them come in. “Allura, I’m assuming it’s your doing that the recreation room is locked?” 

Allura pulled the key from her pocket and teasingly dangled it. “Sure is,” she said. “No peeking until all the kids are here!”

Coran only sighed.

Shiro laughed quietly, amused by their antics. Coran was probably used to these bursts of spontaneousness that Allura tended to have. Even if her surprise did make him endlessly curious, Shiro was admittedly a little excited about it, too. He knew Allura was a very creative person, and anything that got her so eager was definitely going to be fun.

It was almost painful waiting for all the kids to show up. They were used to having free run of the building, so when they found the recreation room, they realised that something was up. Shiro got lots of questions from them about why the room was blocked off, but he didn’t have any answers for them. 

Eventually, however, everyone was accounted for, and Shiro found himself sending Allura pointed looks that had her laughing every time she caught him. Could he really be blamed? He was just as interested as the kids were about her super-secret surprise. He would be sure to complain to her about how much she’d been teasing him lately when they were back home that evening.

“Alright, time for a surprise!” Allura declared when she finally relented to his stares and the kid’s hushed, eager murmurs. The children flocked to her as she went to unlock the recreation room door. Even Shiro followed after them, thankful that he was far taller than everyone else and he could therefore easily see over their heads. 

“What is it, Allura?” Lance asked, as he held onto the hem of Allura’s shirt, his eyes bright and inquiring. 

“It’s a secret,” Allura told him.

He pouted.

“Just wait one moment, Lance,” she said, laughing, as she fumbled to get the key in the door.

Lance turned to give Keith a scandalised look, but Keith only took his hands, jealously scowling. He seemed to brighten when Lance gave him a puzzled but charming grin, squeezing Keith’s hands back. Those two were far too adorable. 

Eventually Allura managed to get the door unlocked, and then she was pushing it open. Almost immediately Shiro was overwhelmed by the view of the room.

Allura had covered it from wall to ceiling in fairy lights. The curtains had been pulled shut tightly, leaving the only source of light to be the glowing twinkles, which cast warm spots across the walls and floor. All the beanbags had been dragged into the centre of the room and covered in the kindergarten’s spare blankets.

She’d hung dangling lights from the ceilings and bookshelves, too. They had glowing stars on the ends, which matched the ones on the ceiling. The room had been turned into an oasis of stars and glittering lights, and the awed gasps of the children aptly matched how Shiro felt at the sight of it. Now he knew why Allura had been so secretive – this really was just a wonderful surprise, and he was glad she hadn’t told him anything about it.

“Woah, this looks so cool, Miss Allura!” Hunk said, as he entered the room with the other children. “Is this for us?”

“Of course it is, Hunk,” Allura said, smiling. “It’s our own astronomy room!”

Pidge’s eyes were glowing as he followed Hunk in. “This is like the robot Matt sent me before,” he said, grinning.

“It sure is,” Allura nodded. “That was a part of my inspiration! Do you like it?”

“Yeah!”

Lance and Keith had already dived head-first into the room, and after spending a few, swift moments cataloguing all the changes, they’d chosen a little section for themselves and sat down on the beanbags. Keith had found one of the handful of torches Allura had placed around the room – they were covered in coloured cellophane, which casted coloured spotlights around the room when they were switched on. Lance was busy tucking a blanket around Keith’s shoulders, one that he managed to crawl under to join Keith when he was done making sure his friendly was appropriately warmed. 

Shiro just smiled at them. All the kids were already enthralled with Allura’s surprise, and he just knew they’d be entertained by it for a good portion of the day, which was perfect for the adults at Altea Kindergarten.

“Good surprise?” Allura asked, as she dug her elbow into his ribs. 

“It’s amazing,” he said. He put his arm around her waist and pressed a quick kiss against her forehead. “No wonder you’ve been so busy lately. How did you reach the ceiling without me?”

She huffed, and rolled her eyes, but the amused tilt of her lips showed how pleased she actually was. “I used a ladder, you oaf,” she said. “Those things exist, you know.”

“Do they? I’ve never needed one.” It was a lie, but it made her laugh, which in turn made him quite happy with himself. He was getting better at the playful teasing thing, he thought. He was learning from the best.

“You’re too much for me,” she said as her laughter quietened. “Do you like it, though? Really?”

“It’s wonderful,” he told her, as he nuzzled the top of her head. “It reminds me of when I’d pilot at night, and the stars were the only thing I’d see. The kids just adore it, too.”

Allura smiled, her cheeks flushed. “I’m glad you like it.”


	196. Include

They decided to keep the “astronomy” room for a while, though Shiro noticed that the kids quickly renamed it the “starlight room”. Even if it meant that most of the toys and furniture in the recreation room had to be relocated to the main room, it was only a temporary matter, and the kids didn’t really seem to mind. Besides, it gave Shiro and Coran a chance to go through the older toys and throw out what was no longer played with. Allura was the one in charge of supervising the kids while they set to thinning out the old piles of unused or damaged toys.

“I wonder how long the kids will want to keep the room like that,” Shiro mused, as he separated a bunch of tangled dolls from one another. Most of them could be kept, but some were too old and frayed for the kids to have any interest in them. They’d probably have to throw them away, if they couldn’t donate any of them to a second-hand store.

“A while, probably,” Coran said. He gave a Frisbee he pulled from the bottom of a box a very squinty stare before decidedly moving it to the throw-away pile. There was a thin crack running down one of its edges. “The kids always love it when Allura does things like that for them, so I usually let them enjoy it for a while. At least until we need the room again, anyway.”

“Does she do things like that for the kids often?”

“Depends on what she can come up with,” Coran said. “One time during the summer a couple of years ago she had the kids help her build a bunch of these little tents in the backyard. They were made from fabric the kids painted and a few sticks that had fallen from the trees out there, but it somehow worked. Looked pretty good too, though don’t go telling her I said that. The kids refused to dismantle the tents for a solid week, not until there was a summer storm and they got broken.”

Shiro laughed quietly. “That sounds like something she’d certainly do.”

“They did a slip-and-slide once, as well. All she used was a large tarp and dishwashing soap. The kids loved that one,” Coran continued. “Oh, and once she strung up red string all throughout the hallway and made the kids act like they were in a spy movie to get from one side to the other. If they touched the string, then they had to start over.”

“Like the strings were lasers?”

“Precisely!” 

“Do you have any photos?” Shiro asked. Even if he hadn’t known Allura back then, or anyone from the kindergarten for that matter, he still felt oddly left out, and even a little bit jealous. There still seemed to be so much history to this place that he had no knowledge about, like there was still a divide between _him_ and _them._ He didn’t feel like an outsider anymore, not like he did when he first started working at Altea Kindergarten, but there was still a longing in him that ached to be included. That included things from the past, too, even if he hadn’t been there to experience any of it.

“I sure do,” Coran said, grinning. “I’ll dig them up for you later, but don’t tell Allura. She’ll be too embarrassed to show you, I’m certain. She’s a funny one.”

Shiro smiled. Not only were there things he was still figuring out about Allura, but there were still things about Coran that had yet to be uncovered, too. Being surprised by the little things that made them who they were was something that brought Shiro a great amount of pleasure. Coran’s funny way of talking was one of those little things, but it was so distinctively Coran that Shiro couldn’t find any part of himself that disliked it. What Coran meant by “she’s a funny one” could have been a whole lot of things, but Shiro was sure it was that Coran thought Allura’s reactions to Shiro seeing parts of her life before him was endearing. He thought they were, too. 

“I won’t tell her,” he promised. “I can’t wait to see all the photos.”

Coran smiled at him, too. He had a smile a lot like Alfor’s then, Shiro thought, or even like his own father’s. 

It seemed that Allura wasn’t the only person who could make him feel undoubtedly included in their little family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am determined to get this story to 150k words at chapter 200, so I'm going to try and write longer chapters for the next few days... if you have any ideas, feel free to send them my way aha ^^" (I do have a plan for chapter 200 though, hehe). I might go back and add a few paragraphs here and there to chapters I'm still vaguely unsatisfied with, but we'll see~
> 
> [my tumblr](http://milkteamiku.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Hopefully I can get back to writing chapters a little more consistently soon. I'm just entering my examination period at uni, but once that is all done with, I have about a month free where I can finally get a start on (and finish) all the things I have planned!


	197. Shameful

The reunion at the Garrison was fast approaching, and even if Shiro would have preferred to forget it ever existed in the first place, Allura was very on top of it. She had the date written on their calendar, and had been subtly conditioning Shiro to get used to the idea of going with gentle questions and quiet reminders about the upcoming date for the past two weeks or so.

Shiro wasn’t oblivious to what she was doing, and although he found it confronting at first, he rather appreciated it now. Allura had a way of putting herself straight into his insecurities without him noticing she was there until he already felt them easing away. He had no idea how she did it, and even if he recognised what she was doing this time round, that fact remained the same. Thinking about the reunion didn’t fill him with as much anxious dread as it used to.

It was when Allura was busy doing the dishes that he snuck back into their bedroom, the Garrison on his mind. For the reunion he’d have to wear his formal uniform, complete with all the trimmings and shiny things that came with it. It was a requisite that every pilot conformed to, partially because of respect, and partially because it felt odd and out of routine to be out of uniform when around so many higher-ranking officers and fellow soldiers. Shiro hadn’t touched the uniform since the accident. He wasn’t even sure if he’d ever looked at it again, but that night he did.

The uniform was kept in one of those bags important people with important clothes used to keep their garments from getting dusty. He wasn’t sure what it was called, but it did its job – and kept him from ever having to face the uniform again. It had been stuffed into the back of the closet when he moved in only because he didn’t want Allura to see it and he didn’t have the strength to throw it away forever. He’d once asked if he could leave it at his parent’s house, but his mother had told him to keep it. He hadn’t really understood why she said that back then, and he still kind of didn’t, but he had a feeling she’d made the right decision.

When he unzipped the protective bag, the sight of the uniform made him pause. It looked exactly like how he remembered it. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but he hadn’t expected it to be so… familiar. The uniform was something he had fixed his sense of self-identity on for so long that when he left the Garrison, he’d completely rejected it. That was why he’d kept it hidden away for so many years. He was uncomfortable with the fact that he’d changed so much and yet the uniform still seemed impossibly familiar. 

He took a seat on the bed, still holding the uniform. If – no, _when_ he went back to see everyone, he’d have to wear it. Just thinking that made him believe he could almost feel the buttons beneath his fingers. Dressing had been such a routine in the Garrison that he hardly believed he’d ever managed to break out of it. He could feel ghosts of the uniform fitting around him; the straight shoulders, the heavy boots, the muffled clinking of medals he’d earned by accomplishing piloting feats and participating in dangerous missions.

None of them had been as dangerous as Kerberos.

His arm ached just thinking the word.

He hadn’t let himself brush across it, even in memory, in an incredibly long time.

A sigh escaped him. Complicated memories or not, the uniform was required. He wondered if it would still fit him, and if he should mention it to Allura. He could hear her draining the sink in the kitchen, and spurred on by shameful feelings, he hastily zipped his uniform up in the protective bag and hid it away in the closet. There hadn’t been a reason he came into the bedroom, but he took the opportunity to change in his pyjamas, and to take the previous nights’ water glasses out into the kitchen, ready to be refilled.

“Are you alright?” Allura asked him, as she caught sight of him out of the corner of her eyes. Just like usual, her uncanny way of reading him so accurately was startling. He didn’t think he looked that troubled, but maybe she could see things in him that no one else ever had or ever could.

“I’m alright,” he told her. It wasn’t exactly a lie – he _was_ alright, just confused. He needed time to think about everything, to sort out what he felt and what he remembered. Allura’s subtle reminders about the reunion were good reminders for him to do that, so that he didn’t get overwhelmed by it all at once. 

Allura squinted at him. She dried her hands on the tea towel they kept hanging on the oven’s handle before pressing her palm against her forehead. “Are you sure, Shiro? You look a little pale, but you’re not warm…”

He nodded. “I’m sure,” he said.

She let the subject go, but drew him closer, her hands on his hips. She wasn’t a short girl, but she was shorter than him, so when she tilted her head up to kiss him, he met her halfway. Her lips were somewhat cold from the frigid air that naturally accompanied nightfall, but they warmed quickly beneath his own. 

“Are you worried about something?” She whispered.

He laughed quietly, and drew back to rest his forehead against hers. It seemed that she was perhaps unable to let go of her concern for him. It was an oddly endearing habit of hers. “I’m not worried, just… thinking,” he admitted. He thought that maybe a weight would lift off his shoulders if he shared a little bit of his concern with her, but it didn’t. That wasn’t a bad thing, just puzzling. It seemed like there were a few things he had to work through on his own first, that’s all.

“Anything I can help with?” She offered.

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Alright.” She pressed another kiss to his lips. This time, she seemed comfortable with letting the conversation go. “Just talk to me if you need me, alright? Promise.”

“I promise,” he said. He meant it. When it came to things he was uncertain or pained about, he no longer felt the need to suppress everything to the point where it was like his pain was completely disconnected from him. Instead, he instinctively thought about Allura, about asking for her opinion about it. She always seemed impossibly clear-headed when he was lost in thought.

“I think it’s time we went to bed,” she declared. “I’ll meet you in the bedroom?”

He snuck one more kiss from her, before agreeing.


	198. When

A phone call from Mrs Holt surprised Shiro one evening. He went into the kitchen to take it, not wanting to bother Allura in the lounge room. Mrs Holt gave him a litany of pleasantries that he felt no need to interrupt, despite his curiosity towards the nature of her call. She did get to the point eventually. 

“Do you know about what’s happening this month?” She asked tentatively. “I mean at the Kindergarten, that is.”

He frowned, confused. “No. What’s happening? It’s just turned June, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” she said, “Coran and Allura usually organise something for pride month.”

Shiro’s eyebrows went up. Everything was suddenly clear to him, and he nodded in understanding, even though Mrs Holt couldn’t see him. “Do they usually do something for Pidge?” He asked.

Mrs Holt hesitated. “Well, they started a tradition about doing something during June to celebrate the month, but Pidge was too withdrawn last year to participate. I think he was still scared and confused.”

“I see,” Shiro said. “Do you want me to ask what Allura has planned?”

“No, no, it’s alright,” she said quickly. “But… could you do me a favour?”

“Of course.”

“Could you talk to Pidge, please? That’s really why I rang, he wants to speak with you, but I told him he only could if you were free.”

“I am,” Shiro said without hesitation. He always had time for Pidge. “You can put him on.”

Mrs Holt let out a deep, relieved sigh. “Thank you Shiro, I can’t thank you enough for what you do for my boys.” She was calling Pidge in the background before he could reply, her voice muffled. Shiro heard the phone being switched hands, and then Pidge’s nervous breathing.

“Shiro?”

“Hey buddy,” he said, his tone soft and quiet. He took a seat at the kitchen counter, wincing at the cold for a moment. “What’s up?”

“It’s pride month, right?”

“Sure is.” Shiro paused, waiting for Pidge to say something, before deciding that perhaps he should lead the conversation instead. “Is there something you want to do?”

“Can I?” Pidge asked, sounding high and quick, like he was clutching the phone tighter. “Is it okay?”

“It’s more than okay, Pidge,” Shiro said. He didn’t know what Allura or Coran had planned for the month, but he knew they’d let Pidge do whatever he wanted. Out of all the children in the kindergarten, he was the one they needed to express the most pride for. His decision to present as a boy was a very brave one. “Do you have something in mind?”

“No,” Pidge whispered, shaky. “I can’t think of anything yet. B-but, if I think of something later, can I do it then? I promise to do something before it’s over!”

“Pidge,” Shiro interrupted, “it doesn’t matter how long it takes you, even if it’s tomorrow, or next month, or next year. Whatever you want to do, you just come straight to me and tell me, and I’ll make it happen. You hear me? Doesn’t matter when, or what. Just tell me and I’ll make it happen.”

Pidge was silent for a long, breathless moment. “Okay,” he finally said.

“Promise?” Shiro insisted.

“I promise.”

“Pinkie promise?”

That drew a giggle from Pidge. “I can’t pinkie promise you if I can’t see you, Shiro!”

“Sure you can,” Shiro grinned. “See, I’ve got my pinkie wrapped around the phone right this very instant. Pinkie promise to tell me?”

There was muffled crackling as Pidge shifted the phone, likely wrapping his finger around it just the same way Shiro had. “Okay, I pinkie promise,” Pidge said.

Shiro smiled. “Good.” He hadn’t felt as satisfied as he did then in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want to write a long chapter for pride month (I also got a nice request about it) but I'm incredibly sick at the moment, so this was all I could manage tonight. If you have any ideas about what I could write for pride month (I have some, but I want to make it long) feel free to send them my way!


	199. Pride

It started with a flag. A rainbow flag, to be specific. Shiro wasn’t quite sure where Coran dug it out from, but it was likely in one of the back storage rooms. They’d kept it in a plastic seal, so when Allura took it outside to shake it loose, it was in near-perfect condition. 

“It’s surprising,” Allura said, as she had him help hang it up by the front entrance, “most parents enjoy that we celebrate pride month here. I was worried there would be some objections to it, but everyone is glad that their kids have a chance to experience a positive outlook on it. They don’t mind what we do for the month, within reason of course.”

Shiro nodded. It was chilly outside that day, and his fingers were frozen stiff by the time he finally managed to pin the flag up straight. Allura stepped back to double check that it really was hanging straight from a distance, and gave him a satisfied nod when she decided that it was. They escaped back into the warmth of Altea Kindergarten a moment later, both feeling oddly accomplished. 

It was a good start.

 

One of the kid’s parents worked at a library. Shiro wasn’t too familiar with them, but during the beginning of June, they leant Altea Kindergarten a whole stack of children’s books straight from the LGBTQ section at their work. Shiro was surprised to arrive one morning and see a box full of library books on the bench.

It wasn’t unusual for them to have story time with the kids, where one of the adults would read out a book that the kids chose for them. Shiro didn’t think he had that great of a reading voice, and Allura always insisted that Coran put on the best voice acting, so it was always him that did the reading for the kids. If Shiro were being honest, Coran’s ability to create a new voice for every single character was a little frightening, just because he was so good at it.

But the new books were rather cute. Curious, Shiro flipped through them after getting his designated rooms ready for the day. The stories were very inclusive for all genders and orientations, more than he would have expected. They were sweet and hopeful and colourful. He couldn’t think of a single orientation that wasn’t presented in at least one of the books.

He left the one about a transgender boy on top hoping that Coran would read it first. 

Later in the day, when it came time for the kids to settle down for story time, that book was the one that Coran picked up.

It was interesting to watch the kids react to the book. For the most part, they didn’t seem fussed at all by the identity of the main character, perhaps because they were so used to Pidge’s company. But Pidge seemed to like it. His eyes grew wider and wider as the story progressed. Coran would turn the book around after every page so that the kids could see the illustrations, and Pidge would lean forwards every time, eager to see every detail up close.

When reading time was done, Shiro found the book, and took a photo of it that he sent to Mrs Holt. He just knew she would love to find the book somewhere so Pidge could own it himself. She was more than happy to hear about it.

 

During arts and crafts one afternoon, they decided to hold a rainbow painting competition. The rules were simple: the children had to paint their best version of a rainbow. It didn’t matter what kind of rainbow they painted or how they painted it, as long as it was a rainbow.

Of course, letting the kids get into the paints was always a messy event. After explaining the rules like he usually did, with the exception of adding the rainbow painting competition, Shiro spent the better part of the day scrubbing jackets clean. Just Lance’s and Keith’s, of course, because who else could get so messy in such a short amount of time?

At least Allura had taught him how to get rid of paint marks before they permanently stained the fabric.

She came to watch him as he scrubbed Keith’s jacket clean as fast as he could. “Those two making a mess again?” She asked around a muffled laugh.

“Sure are,” he said, sighing. It wasn’t a put-out sigh, but just one of content acceptance. He held up the jacket for Allura’s inspection. “Good enough, do you think?”

“Looks perfect to me,” she praised. She darted into the small laundry to press a sweet kiss against his cheek, and smiled at him teasingly. “Looks like someone paid attention to all those lessons I gave.”

He laughed. “I was listening,” he insisted. “I have to learn how to get paint stains out considering how often they get each other dirty. I don’t even know how they did it this time!”

Allura chuckled. “Well, when you’re done, just pop the jackets straight in the dryer, alright? It’d be best if we could get them dry as soon as possible.”

“Alright, I will.”

For the time being, Lance and Keith were borrowing two of Shiro’s jackets – one that he’d worn to work, and one that Allura had stolen so she could wear it when he hadn’t been looking. Both the sweaters swamped the kids, but it kept them warm until their own clothes were ready to wear again. Besides, wearing Shiro’s clothes had them being a hundred times more careful with where they were aiming their dirty paintbrushes.

Aside from the whole paint-on-jackets incident, the rest of the activity went rather well. Shiro got their clothes straight into the kindergarten’s dryer before heading back out to monitor the kids. They were all painting something rather creative, and it was great to see them get so artsy with the little competition.

Hunk was painting a normal rainbow. He had it arching widely across the page, hanging over a lawn of grass and flowers. “I know it’s normal, but I like it,” he said, grinning widely as he painted a cheerfully bright yellow sun in the corner of the page. 

“Your lines are very neat,” Shiro praised. “I think it looks fantastic.”

Hunk’s replying grin was as warm as the sun.

Pidge was painting a lion with rainbow-coloured fur. When Shiro asked him why, Pidge had just grinned at him, and cheekily adjusted his glasses. “Lions have a _pride,_ you know!”

Shiro laughed, and ruffled Pidge’s hair. “That’s so clever!” It really was. Not only did the kids have all their lion toys, but Pidge had somehow managed to work in their love for them into the rainbow painting contest. It was definitely something only Pidge would think to do.

Lance and Keith were painting something vaguely rainbow-ish. They had all the colours on their pages when Shiro glanced over their shoulders, so he assumed they were on track. For the most part. Maybe. Either way, they looked like they were enjoying themselves, and he thought that that was what mattered the most.

Once all the paintings had been completed and allowed an hour or so to dry, Shiro helped Allura and Coran pin them up onto the wall. The kids would vote for their favourite (but they weren’t allowed to vote for their own) and then the winner would receive chocolate. For fairness’s sake, they also had little lollies for all the other kids. 

It was nice to see a wall of rainbows at work.

 

Coran made cookies. They were nothing like his blue disc lollies, but were instead simple sugar-cookies cut into cute shapes with a bunch of different cookie cutters that Shiro never realised they had. He could smell them baking when he arrived one morning. 

“What are these for?” Shiro asked, as he leaned into the kitchen to peer at the trays of baked cookies. Coran must have come in extra early to get them all done – Shiro was surprised by just how many there were. 

“Decorating,” Coran said, grinning, as he brandished a tray freshly pulled from the oven for Shiro’s curious inspection. “It’ll be the main activity for the day.”

Shiro chuckled. That seemed like something Coran would think of for sure. The cookies were a wide variety of shapes, including clouds and arches and love hearts. He knew the kids would enjoy it. It seemed like Coran was still the one who was the most in tune with the kids when it came to fun activities. Shiro had seen adults described as being childlike, but with Coran, he thought there was something different. Coran just loved the kids and loved to make them happy, that was all.

Predictably, the kids did enjoy decorating all the cookies. There were so many that needed decorating that they were all preoccupied for a solid hour and a half, something of which was an impressive feat when it came to their kids.

They decorated the cookies with a bunch of different toppings. They had icing for every colour of the rainbow, and little chocolate chips, and rainbow sprinkles. The kids made a mess all over the place, but everyone was happy, so Shiro didn’t mind a little extra clean up afterwards. Lance and Keith even managed to keep the icing strictly on the cookies (well, and the table top, but that wasn’t too bad).

When Pidge gave him one of his personally decorated cookies, Shiro felt a rush of affection for his kids. They responded so well to everything that was going on for pride month, and it made him feel good. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had been a little wary about it all, just because he knew how cruel kids could be sometimes. 

But he’d said it before, and he’d say it again – the kids they had at Altea Kindergarten were the kindest kids possible.

 

They had a parade. At least, that’s what Shiro called it. Allura and Coran called it that as well, but it was more like a huge, all-inclusive dress up party. Coran pulled out a props box from somewhere that Shiro had never seen before and all the kids were encouraged to wear brightly coloured clothes for the day. They made little teams amongst themselves and dressed each other up in the props while Shiro and Coran set up a runway.

All the tables in the dining room had to be moved aside, which took a bit of time. They used the chairs to line the runway, marking out a space for the kids to walk down when they were ready. It was also a good place for everyone to sit while the teams took their turns showing off.

Shiro had been very curious about the pride parades when he heard that Allura and Coran liked to hold a small, play one for the kids every June. He’d looked up pictures of the ones held in the city and around the world and thought it was a good way to celebrate pride month. He’d never been to one in person – he’d always been too busy with Garrison work – so seeing what the kids would do was going to be fun.

Coran had managed to find a bunch of colourful accessories for the kids to put on from his pop box. There were huge, feathered scarves and big glasses and shirts with LGBTQ positive slogans printed across the front and back. Shiro didn’t think he’d ever seen more colour in Altea Kindergarten before. There were a bunch of fake flowers that the kids used to carry like bouquets, too.

As the parade started, Allura turned on some peppy music, and the kids began their parade walks. Shiro wasn’t surprised to see that a lot of their kids had colour coded their outfits. It was like they were making a rainbow. He loved seeing his little group of kids walking down the runway. Pidge and Hunk had formed a team, and while Pidge shyly carried flowers, Hunk flaunted a yellow bow on his head and a shirt with a big smiley face on it.

Lance and Keith had made a team, too. They’d coloured themselves red and blue which was entirely unsurprising. They both had fluffy, feather scarves around their necks and comical sunglasses that oddly enough suited them. Lance took the parade in his stride, taking every opportunity to confidentially twirl and drag Keith into made-up dance moves. He was wearing a shirt with a big rainbow heart plastered across the front. It was lovely to see them having so much fun together, even if Keith looked horribly embarrassed. 

Shiro made sure to take lots of photos at their little pride parade.

 

Eventually, Pidge did think of something he wanted to do to celebrate pride month. Shiro almost expected him not to, just because he seemed to be enjoying everything that the adults at the kindergarten had planned, but he was very glad that Pidge had found a way to express himself.

He arrived early one morning with his mother in tow. Pidge got there before all of the other children, and Shiro had a feeling that he wanted a moment of privacy before his friends arrived. He was carrying a little plastic bag, and looked rather nervous.

“Go ahead, Pidge,” Mrs Holt encouraged when the two of them entered the kindergarten, as she put her hands on the back of Pidge’s shoulders. “You can ask Mr Shiro.”

Shiro gave Pidge a comforting smile and crouched down in front of him. “What’s up buddy?” He asked. “What have you got there?”

Pidge’s eyes nervously flittered from Shiro to the bag. He hesitated, before reaching into it and pulling out something that looked like a flag. “T-this is my idea,” he said, his voice wobbly. “It’s a flag for me.” He held the flag by its corners and unfurled it. The flag was partnered with pink, blue and white stripes – Shiro only recognised it because he’d looked up what it looked like.

“That's perfect, Pidge,” Shiro smiled. “How about we hang it up outside?”

Pidge’s eyes sparkled. “Can I?”

“Of course, it’s a wonderful idea. Let’s go do it now.” He groaned as he scooped Pidge up onto his hip, which made Pidge laugh. Mrs Holt was smiling as she followed them out. Shiro picked up some pins on the way.

They hung the flag beside the rainbow one still up by the entryway. Shiro lifted Pidge up to hang the flag himself, though he was sure to help Pidge with the pins. Once it was done, they stepped back to admire their handiwork. The two flags together looked good.

“What do you think?” Shiro asked Pidge. “Is it good?”

Pidge nodded. He put his arms around Shiro’s neck and hid his face there, though Shiro could feel him smiling. It was so satisfying to know that Pidge was happy and comfortable like he was.

“Thanks for doing this Shiro,” Mrs Holt said. “I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Shiro said honestly. He returned Pidge’s hug before setting him back down on the ground. “How about you say goodbye to your Ma and then we’ll go inside, hmm? It’s cold out here.”

Pidge nodded, and turned to hug his mother’s legs. Shiro let them be, and wandered back inside, eternally grateful that he’d been given the chance to experience everything he had with the people at Altea Kindergarten. 

He couldn’t be any prouder of them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ❤


	200. Home

The house they chose was one Alfor found, actually. It was located on a small, quiet street in a neighbourhood incredibly close to where they were already living. The kindergarten was a little further away, but the grocer’s market and the Holt’s house were both closer. Shiro thought that he and Allura were both just glad they were able to stay in the neighbourhood. 

They signed the lease in both their names. It wasn’t exactly conventional because he and Allura weren’t married yet, but Alfor’s word had a lot of sway when it came to buying the house, especially because he helped them with the deposit. Shiro had very surprised by the whole process, not in the least because it was Alfor who started it with a very confronting question.

“Are you planning on marrying my daughter?”

Shiro had almost spat out the coffee he’d been drinking. Alfor had rung him to ask him out for coffee and breakfast, and Shiro hadn’t thought anything of it. He’d expected Allura to come with them, but she hadn’t. He was comfortable around Alfor so it hadn’t mattered much, but that question had certainly caught him off guard. He felt nervous meeting Alfor’s eyes after it had been asked, but he did. He didn’t have anything to be afraid of, did he? “I do,” he’d said, “eventually.”

Alfor had nodded, looking rather pleased with Shiro’s answer. He didn’t pry any further, which Shiro was thankful for. He was already embarrassed enough as it was. That was when Alfor had brought up the house situation. Shiro was worried that they were moving too fast – they’d known each other for two years, but they’d only dated for a year and a half. He knew he loved Allura and that he always wanted to be with her forever, but was he jumping into things?

But Alfor didn’t seem to think that at all. With the way he spoke, it was like those doubts had never even crossed his mind. Somehow that reassured Shiro. Getting Alfor’s support was something he valued highly, and really appreciated. 

He and Allura went house hunting a few weekends after his talk with Alfor. They’d been looking on and off for a while, never really talking about it in-depth. They both knew what they wanted and that when it happened, it happened, but neither one of them felt the need to talk about it like it was a serious possibility. Until then, anyway. Then it seemed like it was all they talked about.

Either way, the house they ended up choosing was one Alfor pointed out. He’d suggested a few because he’d been helping Allura prepare for owning a house the same way Shiro’s father had taken to helping him. It was a big step, and it was a little frightening, but Shiro was still excited. Of course, they wouldn’t have been able to afford a house at all if Alfor hadn’t helped them with the deposit, but it was a good time to buy a house. The interest rates were the lowest they’d been for a while and the prices in their neighbourhood were steady. Taking advantage of that opportunity, even if it was a little sudden, was a good idea financially. 

They took a mortgage out on the house about a month after they first went to see it. Not only was its location perfect, but its price was fair, the owner didn’t mind that they weren’t married, and it was just the right size for any future possibilities. 

“Do you think we’re ready to own our own house?” Allura had asked him late one night, when neither one of them had been able to find sleep. She seemed as nervous as he felt. 

“I think we’ll be okay,” he told her, as he reached for her hand above the covers. Her skin was cold, but his was too, so it didn’t matter. “Your dad is helping us, and my parents will help us.”

She nodded. “I think we’ll be okay,” she repeated. She sounded a little more like she believed it.

Shiro thought that one of the hardest parts about moving houses was not facing the future, but rather leaving the past behind. Namely, the house they’d been living in together. He’d grown attached to it, something he only noticed after he realised he would be leaving it. This house was the place where he’d truly fallen in love with Allura, where she’d eased his worries and cared for him and allowed him to grow fonder of her with every passing day. 

He almost didn’t want to leave it.

Packing to move was a sort of ritualistic thing. Allura did the living room while Shiro did the bedroom. He spent a lot of time sitting on the bed folding clothes and trying to convince himself that his memories of this place wouldn’t fade after they’d left it. Panther came in for a while to sit by his leg, something the cat normally didn’t do. He’d be coming with them to the new house, and Shiro wondered how he’d handle it. He’d lived at this complex for all of his life, after all.

“Shiro? Are you alright?” Allura peered in at him from the doorway, looking concerned. “You’ve been quiet for a while.”

Shiro gave her a weak smile. “I’m fine, just thinking.”

Allura came into the room and took a seat beside him. “It’s weird,” she said, “to think that we won’t be driving back here anymore, isn’t it? Not bad, just strange to think about.”

He nodded. Although he was undoubtedly excited to have a new home all of their own, he would miss this place more than he expected he would. He’d only ever lived in his old apartment after his accident, until he’d moved in with Allura. Being here with her taught him that he didn’t have to be lonely and miserable anymore. This pace represented a better life for him, a change for the positive. 

Allura suddenly pushed him back, startling both Panther and himself as they fell against the sheets. “You should stop brooding so much,” she said, as she pinned him down with a leg flung across his waist. “You’ll get wrinkles.”

He laughed quietly, and absentmindedly put a hand on her leg. She was wearing her pyjamas and a pair of thick socks to keep warm. “I think I already have wrinkles,” he told her.

She leaned up on one elbow to look at him, and lifted a hand to trace lines across his forehead. “Don’t worry, you’re unfairly pretty anyway.”

He snorted. Allura’s small movements were very relaxing, and as she ran her fingers up and down the bridge of his nose, he found himself unable to keep his eyes open. “I’m going to fall asleep if you keep doing that,” he said.

“Then sleep.”

“I haven’t finished packing the drawers away yet…”

“It’s fine,” Allura said. By then he’d closed his eyes, unable to help himself. He felt her trace around the edge of the scar across his nose, but it didn’t make him feel uncomfortable like it once would have. “It’s only eleven o’clock anyway, perfect time for a nap.”

“No it’s not,” he argued, but there was no bite or effort in his voice. Sun was streaming in through the windows where the curtains had been parted. It made his legs warm, and when Panther settled again, the cat did too. “Allura,” he whined. “I don’t want to sleep.”

“Yes you do,” she said, laughing quietly. “You’re feeling sleepy.”

“You’re trying to hypnotise me.”

“Who, me? Of course not.”

He laughed quietly, too. “You’re cruel.”

“No I’m not, I’m just right.” She laid down beside him and settled into the bed. Her hair was fanned across the sheets and when she shifted to put her arms around him, he could feel it tickling his cheek. She had his head tucked under her chin and it only made him sleepier. 

“Wake me up in ten minutes,” he demanded.

“Sure, sure,” Allura said, as she stroked the back of his head. “I’ll definitely do that.”

She didn’t.

 

They moved on a weekend, starting from Friday afternoon all the way through till Sunday evening. Most of their possessions they could take over themselves – books and movies and clothes they didn’t need, that sort of thing. They packed them up in boxes, labelled them, and took them over. 

Furniture and heavier things were more difficult. Shiro found a local moving company and hired them for Saturday morning to take everything over. He was quite happy that they got it all moved over in time. They couldn’t leave the house until Sunday, so they were left with a blow-up mattress and a pile of quilts as bedding and that was it.

“I don’t recall the house being this big before,” Allura said, amused, as they sat on the floor amongst a pile of half-packed boxes and blankets. They were having sandwiches for dinner because they’d already moved everything from the kitchen except the tea and coffee to the new house.

Shiro found himself nodding in agreement as he watched Balmera run between the boxes. He took another bite of his sandwich, content to eat in silence. He could feel Allura watching him; she’d been doing the same thing ever since his long nap yesterday. Maybe she was worried about him feeling too attached to this place, but he was coming to terms with it now. He kind of liked her concern though, because it wasn’t oppressive. She let him work through his problems without pressuring him to share them.

“Do you think the cats will be okay in the new house?” Shiro asked, as he was throwing away their paper plates and knives (they’d taken their plates over to the new house already, too). 

“I think Balmera will adjust alright,” Allura said. She was sweeping away their crumbs, and when she was done, she buried herself back into the quilts they’d dragged into the lounge room. Her head popped out a moment later, hair crazy and dishevelled. “I’m not so sure about Panther.”

Shiro hummed. Panther wouldn’t be allowed outside until he got used to the new house, and he was typically an outdoors cat. “He might not like being indoors for so long, but I think he’ll like the backyard,” he said. “Now that we actually have one.”

Allura laughed. “That’s nice to say, isn’t it? We have a backyard. A front yard, too. With a garden.”

He smiled. It was nice to say. Their front yard was neatly kept and full of flower beds. There was enough room for Allura to add her own touches to it. The backyard was similar; it had an undercover area and a garden that looked like it had been pulled from a magazine. There was room for a barbecue, as well as tables and chairs. It would be a great place to host parties. Even if the yards would be a pain to mow once the grass grew too long, Shiro really liked it.

When night fell, they got a moderately good sleep on the mattress, and then returned to packing. The curtains had to come down and everything from the laundry cupboard was moved over to the new house. Once everything was taken out, they returned to clean every room from top to bottom. It was hard work, but it felt very rewarding once it was done.

“This place is so empty,” Allura said, as she leaned into his side when he put his arms around her. “I’m going to miss it.”

“Me too,” he said. They were standing in the doorway to their bedroom – well, their old bedroom. He still felt that nostalgic twinge whenever he thought about leaving this place behind, but now that he’d seen all their things in the new place, it didn’t hurt as bad. “Want to go round up the cats?”

He took care of Balmera because Panther had always been more attached to Allura. Neither one of them particularly liked being put in carrier cages, nor being left in the car for a moment while Shiro and Allura said their final goodbyes to the house.

It was a nice, quiet moment.

And then they left.

 

The new house was bigger than the old ones. There were four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a decently sized kitchen. Most of the houses in the area were the same, perfect for a normal sized family. For the two of them it seemed a little big, but it was meant to last them a lifetime, so that didn’t matter. 

They spent Sunday evening unpacking the essentials and wandering around in this awed daze that neither one of them could seem to shake away. The cats were left shut away in one of the bedrooms with all their towels, Balmera’s bed, and Panther’s towel. They meowed to get out for a little while, but seemed to get over it when left alone.

Shiro unpacked the bathroom and bedroom while Allura did the kitchen. They only needed towels for the day, toothbrushes, hair brushes and sanitary items out in the bathroom. The rest could be left for later, though he did move the boxes labelled “bathroom” into the hallway by the door. He did the same thing for the bedroom, unpacking their clothes for that night and the next day. He made the bed too, before calling it quits.

“Where do you think these should go?” Allura asked, as she gestured to their glasses and mugs. “I already put the plates and bowls away.”

“Maybe the cupboard beside the sink? That’s where they were in the old house,” he said. The kitchen here was arranged differently, and it would certainly take some getting used to before he could remember where everything was, but it felt homely. It still needed a few personal touches, but it was slowly getting there.

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” she said, as she turned to lift all the glasses into their new place. He leaned over her to help, and soon enough, most of the kitchen was put away. The pantry was full and the fridge was running and they had their little biscuit tin, a memory from Allura’s childhood, sitting front and centre on the bench. They’d have to buy more groceries the next chance they had, but other than that, they were pretty much done with the kitchen. And once Allura had put a tea towel over the oven’s handle and set their kettle to boil, it felt like home.

It made him happy.

“What’s got you so smiley all of a sudden?” Allura asked, as she raised a brow at him. “The prospect of sandwiches for dinner again?”

He laughed, and shook his head. “No, not that,” he said. “I just never thought I’d own a home with the love of my life, that’s all. I’m happy.”

A warm flush spread across Allura’s cheeks. “Love of your life?” She repeated, sounding oddly winded.

He grinned. “Mhmm.”

She huffed, and pressed herself into his arms looking more embarrassed than he’d seen her in a while. “You can’t just say that,” she complained.

“Why not? It’s the truth,” he said. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said. “This is a nice house.”

He laughed. “It is.”

“It’s our nice house.”

“Yes, it is.”

She gave him a smile. “I’m happy too.”

He laughed again, and kissed her lips this time. “Good.”

It was a new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me for 200 chapters! I never thought I'd write this many, but this little AU is my moment of leisure every day, and I've grown quite attached to it ❤ I hope you like it!


	201. Aunt

The more that Shiro became involved in pride month celebrations, the more he started to notice it around him. It wasn’t like he’d never noticed an LGBTQ couple or an LGBTQ-friendly place before, but there were other things he was noticing now, too – like transgender awareness, for example. Not only that, but people who identified with an aspect of the LGBTQ communities were far more cheerful and forthcoming when they saw how decorated the kindergarten was.

Of course, this line of thinking was drawn from something that happened at the kindergarten, as were most things these days. The parents were always glad to see how inclusive the kindergarten was – not only did it make them proud as parents, but it was always quite the bragging piece, which made Shiro laugh – and their LGBTQ friends were glad to see photos of the place, too. 

Hunk’s mother approached him one afternoon while she waited for her son to grab his things. “My husband and I are going to be out late on Thursday,” she said, after they moved on from the normal pleasantries. “Is it alright if his aunt comes and picks him up instead?”

“Of course,” Shiro said. “Just leave her name and number with us, and make sure Hunk knows.” 

“I will,” she said, smiling warmly. Hunk definitely got his smile from her. “It’s my sister, by the way. She got engaged recently.”

“Oh, tell her congratulations for me,” Shiro said.

“I will,” she said, laughing quietly. “I know we usually get one of my husband’s siblings to pick Hunk up if we can’t, but my sister is gay, so she really wants to see this place. I told her about it the other day.”

Shiro let out a small, surprised noise. “Well, she’s more than welcome to come see everything. I’m sure Hunk would love to show her around.”

“I’m sure she would. He doesn’t really understand that a girl marrying a girl isn’t… normal. By society’s standards, anyway. But I’m really glad he accepts it straight away,” she said. “This really helps the kids normalise what we were taught to hate, you know? It’s just wonderful.”

Shiro was glad to hear that.

The women who came in Thursday night were very normal looking, not that he expected anything different. One was clearly Hunk’s aunt; her skin and hair were dark just like Hunk, and they had the same warm smile. Her fiancé was a smaller, soft looking woman with long, straight hair. They wore matching engagement rings.

Hunk loved showing off the kindergarten to them. He happily pointed out his painting on the wall of rainbows and proudly explained what the two flags hanging by the front entryway outside meant. He introduced them to all his friends, too. (Lance was jealous that he had _two_ aunts from one family, couldn’t he share one?). Shiro just let him be, more than content to watch Hunk impress his aunts. No one else had to do anything before they were smiling, cheeks flushed. Hunk tended to have that happy effect on people, after all.

When Hunk finally remembered to introduce them to him, Shiro was pleased to hear how happy they were with the pride celebrations. It made him proud to think his workplace was having such a positive effect on people, even outside of the people who attended. 

More than that, however, was how proud of Hunk he was. He’d never met a kid more accepting and kind-hearted than Hunk, and it really showed in the way he treated his family members and friends. He couldn’t have been any prouder.


	202. Nook

Their lounge room had a lounge built into the window. It doubled as a cabinet, and once Allura had thrown a bunch of pillows on it and strung up their curtains, she’d declared it their reading nook. They used the seat’s cabinets to store their movies, books and other miscellaneous things, so Shiro thought the space was aptly named.

Sometimes he wished it was a little bigger, though. Or that he was a little smaller. He could fit on the cushioned seat just fine sitting up with his legs stretched out, but he had to curl up if he wanted to lay down on it. The seat, however, was still quite comfortable either way, so in the end he didn’t mind its size. 

He’d never really had a place like it in any of the homes he’d ever lived in. He’d seen similar things in movies, but owning one certainly was a strange concept. Allura thought his fascination with the sunny spot was amusing. He wasn’t quite sure what had him so intrigued by it, but he thought it was probably because he was still getting used to living in a bigger place. 

He blamed it on the cats. They liked sunny spots, and because they still weren’t allowed outside they’d taken to dozing on the couch. He could waste time there by patting them.

Sleeping there, however, was a bit harder to explain away.

It wasn’t like he’d meant to fall asleep. He was sitting upright, leaning against the wall with Balmera in his lap and Panther sprawled over his stretched-out ankles. They were as warm as the morning sun streaming in through the wide windows. It was rare to have such a warm morning in the dead of winter, so he was taking advantage of it. He didn’t really have anything aside from unpacking to do that weekend, anyway. 

He really hadn’t meant to fall asleep there, no matter what Allura teasingly said. He must have only nodded off for half an hour or so before Allura was awake and wandering around the house, looking for him (he usually woke her up, after all). She shook him awake with a careful touch to the shoulder and gave him a smile when he looked up at her, dazed.

“I like this seat,” he said, before she had had the chance to say anything. 

She laughed, and drew his head to her chest like he’d said something positively pitiful. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to take it away from you,” she teased. “You’re adorable, Shiro.”

He huffed, his eyes closing. Allura had put her fingers through his hair and it made him feel like he could fall asleep all over again. “You should join me,” he muttered.

And she did.


	203. Eleven

Allura was reluctant to get up on Sunday. That in itself wasn’t an entirely strange occurrence, and Shiro didn’t spare a second thought towards it until eleven o’clock was nearing and she had yet to surface for a cup of tea. 

When he went to check on her, he found her awake, rugged up in bed with the covers all the way up to her collarbones. She was staring ruefully at the ceiling, a furrow deep in her brow. She looked so contemplative and done with the world that he couldn’t help but laugh. He took a photo of her, to show her later when she’d undoubtedly find her current state hilarious. 

As Allura finally noticed him, she startled a little, and gave him a strange look. “I think I’m getting sick,” she said, as she sunk further into the covers. “I’m allergic to mornings.”

He laughed. Leaning a knee against the bed, he slumped down beside her, and pressed his left hand against her forehead. “Oh, you must be,” he said, voice grave. “Your forehead is very hot. Do you want me to call a doctor?”

She groaned, and turned her face into her pillow. “It’s too early for your jokes, mister.”

“It’s almost eleven.”

“Too early.”

“Eleven, Allura.”

She huffed, and gave him a look that clearly said she knew she was losing this battle. “I do feel a little unwell, though,” she admitted. 

“It’s alright, you just stay in bed for a little while longer, then,” he said. “Better to rest up now and not get worse.”

“You should stay in bed with me,” Allura said.

He laughed again. “Nice try, Princess. Maybe next time.”

She pouted, but didn’t protest too much when he kissed her forehead and tucked her in. She didn’t feel feverish but she was a little warm; he hoped she wasn’t getting the flu. Even if she didn’t like waking up, it really wasn’t like her to stay in bed so long. He made sure to shut the curtains on the way out, hoping she could get some more rest without the light from outside waking her.

Shiro spent the better part of the day unpacking the last few boxes they’d left stacked in one of the spare bedrooms. It was mostly linens and summer clothes, but he threw what needed to go in the wash into the machine and folded the rest. They’d been living here for a while now, he thought – or at least it felt like a while. 

He was getting used to it. Thinking of this place as home was a pleasant thought. 

Once all the moving boxes had been disposed of, Shiro washed his hands, and set to making lunch. Something warm ought to make Allura feel better.


	204. Height

Shiro didn’t know this, but the kindergarten had a grow chart to measure the heights of the kids every few months. There were several boards of lightweight wood stored away in the back of the storage room. They were stuffed behind the shelving units in there, so Shiro had never noticed them before. That day, however, Coran dug them out, and began the measuring process with all the excited kids.

“I didn’t know you guys did that,” Shiro said, gesturing towards the measuring boards as Coran lined them up flat against the wall. Allura was standing beside him, watching with an amused look on her face that matched his own. “Do you do it often?”

“Every three to four months or so,” Allura said, nodding. “The kids love competing to see who’s grown the most, so we keep these boards for them.”

Shiro hummed. “I bet I can guess which kids compete the most.”

Allura laughed. “I bet you can. Did you know Keith was taller than Lance last year? But now Lance is growing faster, and he never lets Keith forget it.”

Sure enough, when Shiro went to have a closer look at the boards, he saw Lance’s and Keith’s measurements from the previous year. The difference was only very small, but it must have really irked Lance to be that little bit shorter than Keith. Their height difference was probably only an inch or two now, but to little kids, that must have seemed like a lot.

Especially when the pencil marks on the board showed clearly the exact difference.

“Oh, Shiro! We have to measure you too,” Coran said, as he held up the pencil in his hand after marking down Pidge’s height on the board. “Step right up.”

“Uh, I’m not growing anymore, or anything,” Shiro said, embarrassed, as he held up his hands. “It’s alright-”

“Yeah, Shiro, you have to!”

Shiro startled as two sets of little hands touched the small of his back. He glanced over his shoulder and was met by two matching, sunny grins from Lance and Hunk. They were two of the first kids to get measured, and were quite eager to see how they’ve grown since the last time Coran put out the boards. They were among the taller kids in the class.

He cast a woeful look at Allura, who just grinned and held up her hands at him. There’d be no room from her, then. Shiro sighed. “Alright, let me just take my shoes off then.”

He thought they were lucky that the boards were so light-weight and tall. He only just fit on one, something which Coran found quite funny. Either way, the kids loved that he was joining in, and he even made Allura do it, too. It was great fun to see just how much taller he was than her; he suddenly knew just how Lance felt. They had Coran measured, too; Shiro took the pencil and marked off where the top of his head was (the exact same spot it had been three months ago, it seemed). 

Still, even if he thought the whole ordeal was quite, well, an _ordeal,_ he was rather interested to see just how much the kids would grow soon.


	205. Cactus

“Allura, shouldn’t we wait until spring at least? I don’t think it’s the right time of year for this.”

“You’ll say that no matter what season it is because you don’t want one.”

“It’s not that I don’t want one… I just don’t want one _yet.”_

“It’s the perfect time.”

“I’m not sure if I can care for it though… what if the cats eat it?”

“The cats won’t eat it!”

“What if I drop it?”

 _“Shiro,_ you won’t drop it. They’re not that heavy.”

“But-”

“Shiro,” Allura said through shaking laughter, “it’s not a baby, it’s a plant. They don’t wilt that easily.”

Shiro huffed, feeling faintly embarrassed. They’d had their home for a while now, and although the cold season meant they couldn’t really customise the front garden yet, Allura had decided they were going to furnish the inside of the house with plants. Mostly the kitchen windowsill and maybe the little table they had on the back porch, but to do so, they needed to go plant shopping.

It was definitely not something Shiro was used to. He’d never really gardened, except for when he helped his mother do their yard when he was younger. He could mow the lawns, sure, but that was as far as his eye for exterior designing went. He was more than happy to let Allura do all the deciding, but she was adamant that he put in an opinion of his own.

An opinion that wasn’t him fearing he was going to kill anything they bought, that is.

They’d found a little flower nursery not too far away from the organic food market. It was very green; rows of pebbled paths were bursting will all sorts of plants, hanging baskets clustered the ceiling, and neatly stacked shelves offered potted plants, succulents and cacti for them to browse through. They’d arrived at the nursery quite early in the morning so they were the only people there. Shiro liked the quiet, liked how everything was dewy and fresh. 

“I think succulents would be good for the windowsill,” Allura said, as she delicately touched a fingertip to a water speckled leaf. “They’re fairly low-maintenance, and would do well with the morning sunlight we get in there. What do you think?”

Shiro curiously turned over the little cardboard picket in the pot so he could read the information printed on the back. The succulents did seem remarkably low-maintenance compared to the plants they’d undoubtedly be buying during spring and summer. They only needed sunlight and water, and even if he forget to care for them, he knew Allura would. The plants looked nice, too.

“I think they’re good,” he finally said. Allura seemed pleased with his answer, so he smiled. “Which ones do you want to get? This one looks like it flowers.”

“Oh, you’re right. Let’s get that one. What about this one?” She was pointing at one with wide, thick clusters of leaves. “I like it.”

“I do too,” he said. They spent a little while longer browsing the succulent section, slowly filling the basket Shiro carried. When they passed the little cacti section, Shiro found one in a tiny pot with a big pink flower blooming from its centre. For some reason it reminded him of Allura, and when he cradled it in his palms and gave Allura a hopeful look, she only laughed and eased it into their basket. It was tiny compared to the succulents.

“That’s your favourite one, isn’t it?” She asked, as she caught him smiling at the little cactus. “Why do you like that one so much?”

He didn’t want to tell her that the cactus’s flower reminded him of her, so he just gave her a flustered smile instead. “It’s so little,” he said.

She laughed. “You’re too cute.”

He huffed. “The little cactus is mine,” he said, holding the basket away from him. “Don’t tease it, it’ll grow bigger than all of your succulents, you’ll see.”

She laughed again. “Alright, alright, if you say so!”


	206. Badge

Although June had ended earlier that week, the kindergarten still had the pride month decorations up. Shiro, Coran and Allura were slowly taking them down and replacing them with something else so that the rooms still seemed bright and colourful. Shiro was a little sad to take down all the rainbow paintings, but they soon put up the new paintings recently complete so the walls still seemed full.

Shiro had no doubts that the kids had enjoyed the month. Their tolerance for such social issues was astoundingly positive, and it made him incredibly happy to see. His experience in school had been quite different. 

It was as he was cleaning up the last of the paintings that Keith approached him. He’d been quiet all day, but Shiro had put it down to the bad weather and the general quietness of the kids, of whom were all stuck indoors (again). But perhaps there was something else that was bothering Keith, who had taken to following him around for the better part of an hour. It was like he wanted to ask something, but was too nervous to. When Shiro noticed that something was definitely on Keith’s mind, he decided to do something about it.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Shiro asked, as he crouched in front of Keith. He was beside the drying rack away from the other kids, so they had a little privacy. “Want to talk about something?”

Keith startled, looking quite surprised that Shiro noticed him. He turned his big eyes up at Shiro and hesitated for a moment. “You know how it was pride month…?” He carefully started.

Shiro nodded. “Mhmm.”

“It’s okay to still be like when it’s not pride month, right?”

A worried feeling fluttered through Shiro’s heart. “Of course it is, buddy,” he said, as he put his hands on Keith’s arms to get Keith to look at him. “How you feel is never, ever defined by a time or space. Pride month is simply a time to celebrate all forms of love and identity. Do you understand?”

Keith nodded. “I don’t know what to call myself,” he admitted quietly. The way he said it made it sound like an awful admission.

“There’s no need to label yourself,” Shiro said firmly. “If you don’t know now, or in a year, or even ever, that’s perfectly okay. There’s absolutely no need to stick to one identification.”

“There’s not?”

“Not at all! Imagine that identity is like sand,” Shiro said. “When it’s dry, it’s solid, and has a shape, right? But when it’s a little wet, or when it’s a little windy, or even if the sand isn’t very thick, then it can change shape, and become something new. Identity is like that. It doesn’t have to be one thing to be real, because no matter what, you are a person, and you are valid.”

Keith’s eyes had gone big and wide; it was the look of a child who was soaking up information. “So I don’t have to be something now if I don’t want to? Or I don’t know?”

“That’s right.”

“But I can if I do know?”

“If that’s how you feel, then there’s no problem with it.” 

“And I can be something else later?”

“It’s all about how you feel, Keith. Feelings change, and so can your identification. No matter what, as long as you’re happy, then that’s okay.”

Keith nodded again. “Okay.”

“Is there something that made you think this?” Shiro asked. “Can I help with it?”

Keith hesitated, gathering his thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder, where his eyes lingered on Lance for a brief moment. He seemed jealous that Lance was spending time with other people, even though Keith was the one that decided to leave to find Shiro. He looked worried.

“Do you like Lance?” Shiro asked, his voice careful and gentle. 

Keith’s cheeks went red. He looked like he was going to deny it, sinking into his shoulders, but he didn’t – Shiro thought that that was a step forwards. “I like Lance,” Keith said, “but Lance likes girls.”

Shiro hummed. He could see where this was going. “Can I show you something?”

A puzzled look crossed Keith’s face, but he nodded. Shiro picked him up and carried him on his hip into the office, where they still had things leftover from pride month ready to be packed away into storage for a later date. At one stage during the month they’d had a bunch of heart-shaped badges patterned with different LGBTQ flag colours pinned to the curtains. They were meant to be worn, but the kids decided to use them to decorate, instead.

“See this one?” Shiro asked, as he picked up one of the badges. It was patterned with pink, blue and lavender stripes. “Do you know what this one means?”

Keith clearly recognised the badges as LGBTQ, but he couldn’t quite remember any of the ones besides the rainbow one, so he shook his head.

“This flag represents the people who love both boys and girls,” Shiro said. “It’s completely okay for a person to like both. Love isn’t always defined by gender, so don’t worry about that.”

“Oh!” Keith said. “That makes sense. I forgot.”

“It’s alright,” Shiro said. “If you have a crush on Lance, you should tell him,” he teased.

Keith went red. “No!”

Shiro laughed.

Keith reached down for the little basket of badges. Shiro bent down so that he could pick up a rainbow one. “I think this one is me,” Keith said, as he held the badge with both hands. “For now, anyway. I like Lance, and he’s a boy, so…”

Shiro laughed again. “That’s alright,” he said. “But you know Keith, you don’t need to decide these things until you’re much older. You should just have fun and be whoever you want to be.”

Keith gave him a cute grin. “Okay, I will. Just don’t tell Lance, okay?”

“I won’t.”


	207. Genius

Shiro was in the midst of filing the last of his paperwork when Allura came to him with a problem. He knew she’d been trying to decide on where their next event for the kindergarten would take place and what they’d do, but she seemed stuck on it.

“It’s too cold to go anywhere water related, like to the beach or the pools,” Allura said, as she stormed into the office like a frustrated hurricane. “And there aren’t any new children’s movies out at the cinemas. Most of the educational centres are fully booked, too.”

He set his paperwork aside and turned in his chair to face her. “Did you double check-”

“Yes, I double checked the museum, the powerhouse centre, and the art gallery,” she said. “I don’t want to take them anywhere too expensive or too close to the ocean, it’ll be too cold.”

Shiro hummed. “That makes sense. So you don’t have any ideas?”

Allura sighed, and went digging through one of Coran’s desk drawers. There was a startling explosion of brochures that fell out of the drawer when it was opened. Allura picked a stack of them up, swiftly organised the rest into a stable stack, and put the ones in her hands on Shiro’s desk. When her chair was dragged over, she joined him. “Help me find something?” She pleaded. 

He laughed, and took half of the brochures for himself. “Alright, but can you file these for me? They’re the last ones I have to do.”

“It’d be my pleasure, anything but event planning please.”

The range of brochures Coran had stacked away was impressive, to say the least. Shiro didn’t know half of the places advertised even existed. It seemed harder to choose something than it did to actually find something to do, and he could see why Allura was struggling. The cold weather didn’t particularly help.

It took a while, but eventually Shiro found something that could be promising. “What about a farm visit?” He asked.

Allura glanced back at him, looking curiously hopeful.

He held up the pamphlet. “It’s mostly in barns and then the farmhouse, so it shouldn’t be too cold. The kids can collect eggs and milk the cows and see the horses. There’s an educational tour available for schools, as well.”

“Do you think they’ll have a vacancy?”

“Well, their main attraction seems to be sheep shearing, which they don’t do in winter,” Shiro said. “So I think there’s a good chance they’ll be able to take our class.”

Allura shot him a bright grin. “Shiro, you’re a _genius!”_


	208. Organise

As it turned out, the farm visit was a rather good idea. Shiro was left to clean up all the splayed brochures while Allura rang the farm to see if they had a vacancy. When she returned with a triumphant smile on her face, Shiro knew that the excursion had been booked, and Allura’s stress had been alleviated.

For the most part, he wasn’t very involved in planning excursions. He could do simple things like print off permission notes and send emails, but Allura and Coran organised everything else. With most of the excursions they’d booked, he noticed that the hosting facility usually offered staff members for supervision purposes. More often than not they split into smaller groups to make teaching and supervising easier. 

The farm, however, would require them to bring four of their own staff members, which meant they’d need to find a chaperone. Usually Allura and Coran turned to Alfor, but he was out of town, so they’d need to ask one of the parents. Considering their excursion was booked for a work day when the parents were not expecting to look after their children, it did propose a bit of a problem.

“What about Matt?” Allura suggested one evening. “Is he free? He could always act as chaperone for the excursion.”

Shiro’s brows rose. “That’s a good idea, I’ll see if he’s free.”

Contacting Matt was easier than he expected. Since Matt had started regularly calling Pidge, communication lines between the Garrison and the outside had loosened up, and Matt was able to respond a lot faster. They didn’t have to solely rely on written mail either, not like they’d had to back when Shiro had first joined the Garrison. To put it simply, a swift email sufficed. 

Luckily, Matt’s next break coincided with one of the booking times the farm had offered them, so Shiro had Allura secure their spot. 

“I’m glad it’s all sorted out,” Allura said with a big sigh as they arrived home that evening. As the front door clicked unlocked, Balmera started meowing from inside, making Allura snort. “Always acts like we never feed him.”

Shiro laughed quietly. He took her bag so that she could pick Balmera up when they walked in. Someone needed to do it or he’d get tangled under their feet, never stop meowing, or try and dart outside. They’d let Panther out now that he was used to the house because Panther had always been an outdoors cat, but Balmera certainly wasn’t as street savvy, so they both agreed to only let him out when they were home for now.

“It’ll be nice to see Matt again,” Allura said.

Shiro smiled, and nodded in agreement. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? He hasn’t seen the new house yet. We’ll have to invite the Holts over for dinner soon.”

“Why not invite your parents too?” Allura suggested. “They haven’t seen the house yet either.”

“We can have Alfor and Coran over as well,” Shiro said, grinning. It always made him happy when Allura brought up his parents because he knew how well they got along. He’d heard countless nightmarish stories about in-laws and spouses not liking each other, and he’d been worried his parents might be a little imposing or overbearing, but he’d worried for nothing. Thinking about his girlfriend and his parents being in the same room only made him a ridiculous mix of happy and prideful. “Our parents haven’t gotten to know each other too well yet, have they?”

“Not really,” Allura admitted. “It’d be good to get them together more.”

It wasn’t like their parents hadn’t met, because this far into their relationship it would be incredibly unusual for that to not have happened. But due to work and distance, they’d only met a handful of times, and had never been able to sit down for a proper meal together. From what Shiro could tell both of his parents really liked Alfor, so that was promising. They liked Coran, too.

“I’ll organise something during Matt’s visit,” Shiro said. 

“Does he have somewhere to stay while he’s here?” Allura asked. 

“He usually stays with his parents or at a hotel.”

“Why don’t you offer one of our rooms? There is a bed in the spare bedroom, and I can put some fresh sheets down. We can turn it into a guest room.”

“You wouldn’t mind having him around for a while?”

“Not at all! Invite him to stay here, it’ll be good to have him around. You always seem more energetic when he’s here, more playful. It’s cute.”

He flushed at her teasing grin. “You just want him to tell you embarrassing stories about my Garrison days,” he accused.

“Me?” Her grin grew wider. “Never.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somewhat of an early update today, I have my final exam tomorrow and I'm quite concerned about it ^^" Luckily I have Sydney Supanova to look forwards to on Saturday, hopefully that will keep me motivated for tomorrow :')


	209. Plane

Matt arrived two weeks after they secured their spot at the farm. He came with a grin that spelt trouble for Shiro and a stern reminder about the upcoming reunion (something that Shiro had been studiously ignoring for as long as he could). 

Getting Matt settled was an effort and a half, mostly because they kept messing around when they weren’t meant to. Shiro showed Matt around the house and stopped him from chasing Balmera around with a stick toy and forced him to have a shower because he was sweaty from travel. Keeping him from spilling all of Shiro’s secrets to Allura was also quite the challenge. He’d turned his back and they’d instantly be pressed shoulder to shoulder, whispering like madmen. He’d never met two people who got along so well so quickly.

Even if that was because they liked to share embarrassing stories about him.

“I’m telling you, he’s way more domestic now,” Matt said, “I honestly never thought he’d grow out of his piloting phase. He loved his planes more than he loved _food,_ Allura. Everyone loves food! Do you know how many toy planes he had as a kid?”

“No, how many?”

“Too many to count, that’s how many!” Matt exclaimed. “And he was so protective of them, never let them get dirty. It’s no surprise he became a pilot now that I think about it. You should have seen him the first time he was given a plane of his own to fly.”

“What happened?”

“He cried. Honestly, he cried. I have photos-”

“And I think that’s enough,” Shiro interjected, beyond embarrassed. “No photos.”

“Send them to me later,” Allura whispered.

“I will,” Matt whispered back. His grin was wider than a Cheshire Cat’s.

 

The farm was a bit of a drive away from the kindergarten, just under two hours with good traffic. Shiro had a hard time keeping the kids occupied for the duration of the trip, but ended up shifting their attention to Matt, who was more than happy to answer their inquisitive questions. Matt was a real _army man,_ after all. He made _robots._

When they did arrive at the farm, Shiro and Allura wrangled the kids into two lines and had everyone double check that their nametags were on right. The farm hands came out to greet them, and after the rules were laid out, they were split into four groups ready to go exploring. The groups were small so the animals wouldn’t get spooked. One adult from Altea Kindergarten would accompany each group.

Shiro wasn’t surprised that Pidge went with Matt. He hadn’t stopped grinning since Matt has first arrived home, and Shiro didn’t think he’d stop anytime soon. Hunk had gone with him to keep him company.

Shiro himself had Lance and Keith in his group. He could tell that Lance was excited to see something, but he didn’t know what, yet. He thought maybe the horses, but it seemed like there was perhaps something else that Lance was anticipating. He’d just have to wait and see what had gotten Lance so fidgety and impatient to get started. If he were being honest with himself, he was a little excited himself; the kid’s energy rubbed off on him.

It was bound to be a good day, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally finished with exams and assessments so I should have time to write more for the next month ^^


	210. Cow

A cow. Of course it was a cow. Why wouldn’t it be a cow? Shiro wasn’t really shocked, once he got over his surprise. It was ridiculous, but so Lance that he felt like it was unbearably obvious.

Lance liked the cows.

Their group didn’t go to the cattle sheds first, however. They went to the chicken coops, which were located around the back end of the farm. After the kids each washed their hands at an outdoor tap, they were led into the crowded chicken coop, where rows of surprisingly big pens house clucking hens and roosters that pawed and clicked across the hay-covered ground.

The instructor they were assigned was very energetic and thorough with his talks. He explained how the farmhands cared for the chickens, which ones were producing eggs, and how to safely collect the eggs themselves without disturbing the chickens. 

The kids were paired up and each group was given a small basket to carry the eggs in. Then, under the careful watch of both the instructor and Shiro, they went into the chicken coops and collected the eggs. There were enough coops to last for all the kids at the kindergarten, and each group was tasked with collecting one egg, which they all did very responsibly.

“Shiro, look!” Lance exclaimed, as he and Keith emerged from the coop. Lance had carried the basket, claiming he knew that Keith wanted to collect the egg – how he knew that was a mystery, but he seemed to be right, at least.

“Good job Lance,” Shiro said, smiling down at the excited children.

“Keith picked the best one,” Lance said, as he held the basket close. “Right?”

Shiro just laughed. Keith looked properly flattered, though it was something Lance didn’t notice in his need to express pride for his best friend. It was just like him, Shiro thought. When they weren’t bickering, they were right in each other’s pockets.

Their next activity was in a medium-sized greenhouse set adjacent to the main farm house. They passed Allura’s group of kids as they were dropping off the eggs to a worker; she grinned at him in a way that made him think Matt had told her something very incriminating. He just raised a brow and shook his head at her. He’d have to sort out Matt’s poor secret-keeping skills later.

The greenhouse was filled with little samples of all the things the farm grew. The kids were incredibly excited to see all the little sprouts growing – with what Allura had taught them during their lessons a while ago, they were able to pick out what quite a few of the plants were going to be. The instructor with them was very impressed, to say the least. 

Of course, after a quick break during which the kids had morning tea and bottles of juice, they were taken to the cattle sheds. The barn was big and stereotypically red, something that Shiro wasn’t too surprised by. One entrance was where they entered, and the other led into a big field fit for grazing.

Lance just loved the cows. It was ridiculous, but he was completely enraptured by them. Shiro had never noticed him taking an interest in cows before, but perhaps it was because he was getting taught about them now, or even because they got to be up and close with one.

“She’s so cute!” Lance said, eyes glittering. “Can I pet her?”

The instructor laughed, and because the cow was used to humans and very gentle in nature, he let Lance pet her. Lance’s eyes went big and his mouth dropped open as he tentatively ran his hand down the cow’s flank. Shiro had never seen him look so excited over something as simple as a cow.

Of course, Lance’s fondness for it rubbed off on Keith, who bravely stepped forwards to pet the cow as well, albeit a little more hesitantly. Most of the other kids did, too. For what it was worth, the cow hardly seemed to notice their fascination with her. 

One of the things the kids did with the cow was learn how to milk it. The farm had a small group of dairy cows, some of which they used for educational purposes. Once the kids had gotten used to the cow’s presence, she was led into a little stall where the instructor could comfortably show the group how to milk her. They were more than excited to each have a turn – it reminded Shiro of his own childhood when he was taken to fairs and farm showgrounds. 

All in all, the kids really enjoyed the farm excursion. They were let into a small, gated area to pet little goats and chickens, and were put to work in the kitchen to make lunch using the eggs they’d gathered in the morning. The bus ride home was much easier than the bus ride there just because the kids were so tired that they were content to listen to the radio. Keith and Lance even fell asleep, slumped against each other. Shiro noticed that quite a few of the other kids had drifted off as well, including Hunk (though Pidge was still wide awake and chatting quietly with Matt). 

They all had a wonderful day, Shiro included.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cow is probably called Kaltenecker


	211. Stories

“You didn’t tell her about _that,”_ Shiro said, as he flicked soapy water at Matt, “did you?”

“Nope,” Matt said. He flicked water back. 

“What about-”

“No, not that either.”

“I haven’t even asked you anything yet.”

“I know what you were going to say.”

“Sure you did. What about the time when-”

“No, not that either.”

“Or-”

“No.”

“What about-”

“Nope, not yet.”

“Matt,” Shiro said, trying to make his voice sound stern, “no more stories.”

The knowing glint in Matt’s eyes spelt the word _trouble_ in big, glowing letters. “Where’s the fun in that? How can I refuse a woman as beautiful as Allura when she asks for more?”

“Easily, with the word _no,”_ Shiro said, sighing. “She hasn’t stop smirking at me for days, Matt. I can’t exactly ask Alfor for incriminating stories from her childhood! I feel like she knows all my deepest, darkest secrets.”

“Come now, only I know those.”

“And that exactly is my problem.” Shiro pulled the plug from the drain once all the dishes were washed and sent a last flick of water in Matt’s direction. “You’re as devious as always.”

Matt put a finger to his lips, but his wicked grin crept out on either side. “Don’t worry, Shiro, your secrets are safe with me.”

His secrets were not safe with Matt. Shiro knew that from the beginning, and although it was certainly embarrassing, he didn’t make too much of an effort to stop Matt, other than complaining about it every evening. He trusted Matt not to mention anything that would make him truly uncomfortable, which he didn’t. 

Besides, as much as he despised having his most humiliating acts of childhood and teenaged bravery put on display, he did like seeing Allura so happy. He didn’t quite understand why she seemed so enraptured by the things Matt could tell her about him until he asked her about it.

“It’s because I don’t know you the way he does,” she said. “All the things that made you who you are now are things I can only know through stories about you. I know it’s a little silly, but I feel like there are parts of you I don’t know, or can’t recognise. Hearing about the Shiro I don’t know makes me feel closer to you.”

He didn’t think it was silly, not when she put it like that. With her voice in mind, he realised that perhaps he felt the same way about her. He hadn’t known her for most of her life; what she was describing to him was how he felt when he saw old photos of her at the kindergarten, or when Coran told him about all the old projects she did with the kids. 

That Allura was a stranger to him. The photos and stories made him feel closer to the Allura he knew now.

“I don’t think it’s silly,” he told her. A smirk quirked at his lips. “Just embarrassing.”

Allura laughed. They were sharing hot chocolate over the dining table, and trying to be quiet – it was pretty late, and Matt had already gone to bed. For some reason, neither one of them were sleepy. Allura’s hands were clasped loosely around her mug, seeking warmth. “It’s meant to be embarrassing, we all do the worst things as kids.”

“I swear Matt only remembers the stuff that he can use as blackmail later on,” Shiro said. “Why doesn’t he tell you about any of the cool things I did, huh? I should tell everyone about the embarrassing stuff he did when he was younger.”

Allura supressed another laugh into a sweet smile. “You don’t tell me about the cool stuff,” she said. “You should.”

“It’s not as cool when I say it,” he begrudgingly mumbled, embarrassed all over again. A person’s talents sounded much better from the mouths of other people. 

“I’ll just have to ask him about it, then,” Allura said. 

He laughed quietly, shaking his head.

There was almost nothing better than seeing two of the people he loved the most getting along so well.


	212. Himself

“Are you sure you’ll be alright on your own all day?”

There was a muffled grunt from deep within the covers piled on Matt’s bed. Shiro raised a brow from where he was standing in the doorway, though Matt couldn’t see it. It was already shaping up to be a rainy day; the curtains in the room were closed, but splatters of rain were visible through the partially-transparent fabric, giving the room a very atmospheric feel. 

“This is what you get for staying up until three in the morning last night,” Shiro started, amused.

The covers shifted as Matt hunched up. “You guys get up so early,” he moaned pitifully. “Why are you even awake at this time in the morning? It’s the crack of dawn.”

“You were awake at the crack of dawn, and we have work.”

Matt simple groaned again.

Shiro couldn’t help but muffled a laugh into his hand. He’d grown used to mornings when he was in the Garrison, even if he hadn’t always liked them. Matt hadn’t. Of course, he’d had to get up early, and he’d complained about it pretty much every day. When he moved to his current station, his wakeup time was pushed back to a fairly reasonable time.

Shiro got up earlier than that, though. “Holidays are for sleeping in, so just relax,” he told Matt. “There’s food in the fridge if you get hungry.”

A hand appeared out from beneath the covers to give him a flippant wave. “I’ll be fine,” Matt said. “Who knows, maybe I’ll still be asleep when you get home.”

Shiro snorted. “Alright, I’ll leave you be then. Just don’t let Balmera out, it’s raining.”

“Okay, I won’t.”

“And no feeding him again, either. Not even if he meows. He’s already had breakfast.”

“… Fine.”

Allura was waiting for him by the front door. She gave him an inquisitive look, but he just shook his head. She’d already gotten used to Matt’s antics, including his complete aversion to mornings and waking up early. Allura had expressed her sympathies for that on more than one occasion, which usually left Shiro laughing. Mornings weren’t so bad once he got used to them, he thought. It was kind of nice having the time to wake up properly.

“Ready to go?” Allura asked.

Shiro nodded. They didn’t have much planned for the day at Altea Kindergarten; they’d considered taking the kids outside, but the morning rain would disrupt that plan. There was no saying how long it would stick around for, but considering weather forecasts, Shiro thought that it might rain for most of the day. Still, he wasn’t particularly bothered by it.

Having Matt around made him feel a lot more like himself. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been himself before, but it was different when he was with his best friend. Nothing really seemed as problematic or difficult to handle when he had so many happy people around him.


	213. White

“The doctors said it was from stress,” Shiro said, before Allura could ask him the question. It was a quiet evening, and with all their chores finished early and nothing worth watching on television, they’d shut up the house and went to bed. 

There wasn’t much about his appearance that seemed to puzzle Allura these days, at least not recently anyway. Her attention to the way he looked was more out of fascination and affection, something he readily returned. The white strip of hair he had, however – well, it had caught her attention that evening. She laid propped up on one arm beside him, her fingers stretched out to run through the discoloured locks. 

“Don’t you think it’s strange?” She asked. Her fingers were endlessly gentle, even as her curiosity ate at her. “It’s just this one part. The rest of your hair is perfectly fine.”

He laughed quietly, amused by her antics, and set aside his phone for the night after he finished replying to a message from his mother. “Of course it’s weird, it just popped up out of nowhere after the accident. I just suddenly woke up with it like it is now.”

“That must have been a shock.”

“Just a little.”

“Only a little?”

“Well, I was missing an arm, too.”

She laughed. He’d become comfortable joking about that sort of stuff on rare occasions, this being one of them. “Why did you never dye it?”

“I never thought about that.”

“You could still dye it black.”

“Nah, I’ve grown fond of it now.”

She laughed again. “You’re a funny man, Shiro.” She swept the white strip back against his head, flattening all the pale locks away from his eyes and forehead. “What did the doctors say caused it, again?”

“Stress,” he told her, “though they were as surprised by it as I was. Oddly enough, after a while, nobody questioned it anymore. There were stranger things to see, I suppose.”

“Don’t worry, I think you’re the strangest person I know,” she teased.

“How charming.”

“I kind of like it too, though,” she said. “The white part.”

“You do?”

“Mhmm,” she nodded. “I thought it was odd when I first met you, but it only took me a day to get used to it. It’s unique, don’t you think?”

“That’s one word for it.”

An amused smile danced across her face. He found that most people experienced the same thing she had when it came to his hair – that after a short period of time, it no longer seemed to stand out as unusual. Even the kids had hardly found it odd, though perhaps that had something to do with the fact that he had a “robot arm”. He could certainly see how that would be more of a distraction. 

“I think it’s time for bed,” he said. He leaned over to kiss her goodnight, and smiled at her returned affections. Only his bedside lamp was on, so he flicked it off, and bathed them in comforting darkness. “Goodnight, Allura.”

In the dark, her hand returned to his hair once more, messing up the sleek style she’d brushed the locks into. His hair was properly fluffed up by the time she was done with it, and if the room hadn’t gone quiet, he would have laughed again.

At least Allura seemed pleased with herself. “Goodnight, Shiro.”


	214. Communicate

“Allura, do you want cheese and crackers? The good kind, not the cheap stuff.”

“Do your parents like that?”

“Well, they usually put that sort of stuff out for guests to snack on during dinners and parties. I’ve never really thrown one myself, so…”

“Put it on the list,” she decided.

He laughed a little, and added it to his shopping list. While Matt was in town, they’d asked their collective parents to come over and see the house properly. Alfor, Coran, the Holts (including Pidge) and Shiro’s parents would be arriving Saturday lunchtime for a barbecue cooked out the back, weather permitting. 

Saturday morning was their designated shopping time. It was Thursday afternoon, and while Allura did a load of washing so that they had the weekend free, Shiro set to making their shopping list. Feeding ten people was a challenge both practicality and budget wise, but Matt had already expressed an insistent will to chip in, so Shiro wasn’t too worried about that.

“Is there anything your father can’t eat?” Shiro asked, as he leaned away from the kitchen table to peer down the hallway. The laundry light was on, creating an illuminated wedge halfway down the dark corridor. Allura’s head peered out to give him a thoughtful look.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “But he doesn’t really like beef, so can we get chicken skewers or something? Even chicken burgers would suffice.”

“Alright.” Shiro marked it down on his list. He already had most of the meal decided, so it was only little things that needed adjusting. “I’m assuming Coran will eat anything.”

“Pretty much.”

Shiro marked that down, too. He already knew what his parents would like. “Matt, what about Pidge? Do you think he’d want chicken or beef?”

“Chicken, probably,” Matt answered. He was sitting on the kitchen floor surrounded by bits and pieces of the project he was working on. Shiro had no idea where any of it came from or where any of it was going, but Matt looked completely riveted, so he didn’t question it. “You know him, put tomato sauce on it and he doesn’t care.”

Shiro laughed. “Most kids are like that.” He paused. “Though Keith does prefer barbecue.”

“You remember that stuff about each of the kids?” Matt asked, surprised. He glanced up from his tinkering for a brief moment to give Shiro a rather incredulous look.

“Only because he got it all over Lance when Lance declared tomato as the best.”

“Ah. That makes more sense.”

“Yeah.”

Shiro was looking forwards to having everyone over. He hoped the weather would be good – he’d checked the forecast, and it looked fairly positive. They had a table and chairs set out the back now, and his father had given them his old barbecue, though Shiro thought that was more because his mother was getting sick of its presence than a need to replace it.

“What about wine?” Shiro called back down the hallway. “Would Alfor want wine? My mother probably does.”

Allura popped back out of the laundry, looking contemplative again. “Probably? If you’re getting some, he’ll drink it.”

“My mother is insisting on bringing a bottle, and I’m not up for arguing with her.”

Matt sniggered.

Shiro shot him a look, but it wasn’t unkind. Matt was well acquainted with his mother’s ferocity, after all. He’d experienced it first hand over the years they’d been friends. “Would he prefer red or white?” Shiro directed at Allura.

“Red.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Ma. Coran, too?”

“He’s not a big wine drinker.”

“Juice?”

“Yeah. Get whichever one Pidge likes the most.”

“That’ll be apple juice,” Matt chimed in. “God, do you two always communicate like this?”

Shiro gave him a puzzled look.

“It’s distractingly sweet,” Matt said. He scrunched up his nose to show that he found it slightly distasteful in the same way kids found romance disgusting. “No wonder you guys hardly ever fight. You really found a good one, huh Shiro?”

“I heard that,” Allura called. “Who’s to say I wasn’t the one who caught a lucky catch?”

“See?” Matt said. “My point proven.”

“You know, I like the way you think, Matt,” Allura said. She found Matt’s agreement with her question both flattering and satisfying, Shiro could tell.

“Of course, I’m a genius,” Matt grinned.

Shiro just laughed.


	215. Smoke

As it turned out, the weather was remarkably kind to them come Saturday. Shiro woke up early, as he often did, to go do the shopping. He left Allura with a small kiss and a reminder to set the table out of the back, one she sleepily mumbled at with a swat of her hand. 

The grocers was open, despite it being early. The friendly owners of the store had become used to Allura and Shiro shopping there, and were unsurprised by Shiro’s early arrival. 

He didn’t waste too much time as he filled his basket. He had the list he’d written on Thursday in hand, and once everything on it was accounted for, he headed to the registers. He spotted Allura’s favourite biscuits on sale, the kind with sweet, strawberry jam in the centre, so he put a packet in the basket, too.

When he returned him, all the inhabitants of the house were awake. Matt was cleaning up the kitchen from all his tinkering, something he’d carried on from Thursday well into Friday, and Allura was out the back. Shiro called out to greet her as he began putting the groceries away.

“Got everything we need?” Allura asked, as she peered back in through the back doors. She had her hair tied up in a bun, though long strands threatened to escape the hair tie at any moment. “Are those my favourite biscuits?”

He held up the packet with a cheerful grin. “They were on special!”

She gave him a matching grin. “Can I have one now?”

He opened the packet. Allura snacked on one of her prized biscuits as she wandered back outside to continue doing whatever she was doing. Shiro ate one himself, and offered the packet to Matt before moving the biscuits into a tin for safer keeping and setting them aside.

“Any word from your parents?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah, they’ll be here at twelve, right on time,” Matt said. “Pidge woke them up early today.”

“He did?”

“Of course, he’s excited to see everyone.”

Shiro laughed quietly. It sounded like something Pidge would do. 

While Matt did Matt-things inside, Shiro headed out the back to begin cooking. He’d spent about an hour in the kitchen getting everything ready – marinating meat, preparing vegetables for skewers, things of the like – before joining Allura outside. She’d cleaned the table and swept the back porch free of dust and dirt. She’d set the table too, complete with a patterned table cloth, plates, and glasses. She’d even put a nature-scented candle in the centre of the table and set it alight to spread its gentle smell.

“Looks good,” he said, as he passed by her.

She smiled, and stopped him with a hand on his arm to press a kiss against his cheek. “How are you doing?”

“On schedule.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“Do you want to get the cheese and crackers ready? Everything is in the kitchen.”

“Alright. Call if you need any help.”

“I will.”

Panther came to join him as he started to prepare the food. The black cat lounged on the porch railing, head turned away from the smoke. Shiro rubbed under his jaw for a while until Panther tired of the affection. Such a fussy cat. Balmera was let out halfway through the morning to prowl the backyard under Shiro’s careful watch. 

It had been a long time since Shiro cooked on a barbecue. Not since his accident, at least. Before then, he used to cook barbecues at the Garrison all the time. They hadn’t been allowed much time off, but when they had and they’d been stuck on base, the Garrison would let them have a get-together with the other squadrons. Most of the guys had milled around the barbecue, where Shiro and a few others cooked food for everyone. It had been an enjoyable time.

Matt came out to join him for a while, once he’d cleaned up his mess. It was nice. Familiar. It made him feel connected to who he was in the past by something other than pain and a ghostly arm.

“Oh, my mother said she’d bring a cake for afterwards, too,” Matt suddenly said, interrupting his own chatting about mechanics. He did that quite often, starting a sentence on one topic and finishing it on another. 

“Is she? I’ll have to thank her.”

“I think it’s mostly for Pidge,” Matt laughed. “Kids love cake.”

“That they do,” Shiro agreed. He checked his phone for the time. It was almost twelve now, and he was pleased with the progress the food was making. By the time everyone arrived, settled, and ate the snacks, the main course should be ready. For now, he put the lid down on the barbecue to let the food slowly cook, and went inside to wash his hands. “I’m just going to get changed, don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone. I’m talking to you, Matt.”

“Oi!” Matt didn’t sound offended. “I’m just going to watch the cat.”

“Which cat?”

“The fat one.”

“Balmera is _not_ fat,” Allura chimed in indignantly. 

“But you knew exactly which cat I was talking about!”

“He’s just big-boned,” Allura muttered, pouting. She pushed herself into Shiro’s arms and turned her doleful eyes up at him. “Right, Shiro?”

“Of course, love,” he said.

She saw right through his weak support. “He’s just a little chubby,” she said. “And fluffy. He’s at least fifty percent fur. He just likes to snack, that’s all. And the only exercise is when he chases around that damn slinky. He’s just chubby!”

Shiro laughed, and silenced Allura with a kiss to the lips. She started pouting again when he pulled away, but she seemed considerably less offended (though she probably hadn’t been offended in the first place at all). 

“You smell like smoke,” she said after a decisive moment as she patted his chest. “Go have a quick shower.”

“Yes, dear.”

“You’re so dramatic.”

“Of course, dear.”

“Shiro,” she whined, cheeks flushed. “Stop teasing me. You’ll give Matt ideas.”

“What was that, dear?” Matt shouted from the back porch.

Allura groaned. Shiro snickered.


	216. Gremlin

Unsurprisingly, Shiro heard Pidge before he saw him. They were seated out the back – him, Allura, and Matt – when they heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Matt was up and out of his seat before Shiro could even set down his drink; he probably recognised the sound of his parent’s car.

“Matt!” Pidge cried, as the front door was opened. Shiro could only assume that Matt’s resulting grunt came from a Pidge-shaped human missile.

“There’s my favourite brother,” Matt said, his cheerful voice echoing through the house. 

“I’m your only brother.”

“Still my favourite!”

Shiro snorted, amused. He’d never get used to the way the Holt siblings interacted. Their age gap might have been huge, but they got along better than any other siblings Shiro knew. It made him envious as an only child.

Thundering footsteps ran in the direction of the back porch, and then Pidge appeared, dressed in green cotton overalls and a long-sleeved, white shirt underneath. He jumped at Shiro in an excited flash of green, and Shiro scrambled to put his drink down in favour of catching the child.

“Hey there buddy, already know your way around the house?” Shiro said with a smile as he lifted Pidge onto his lap. “I like your outfit.”

“It’s green!” Pidge grinned. “And I haven’t seen the house yet, I just knew you were here.”

Shiro raised a brow. “Did you now?”

“I’m psychic.” Pidge’s mischievous grin spread wider.

“No you’re not, I just told you where to go,” Matt said, as he appeared behind Pidge to scoop him up out of Shiro’s arm. “Let the man rest, you little gremlin.” 

“I’m not a gremlin.”

“You are definitely a gremlin.”

“No I’m not.”

“That’s something a gremlin would say.”

Pidge huffed, and put both hands on Matt’s face, squishing his cheeks. “If I’m a gremlin, then you’re- you’re a _Galra._ And not the good kind!”

A puzzled look crossed Matt’s face. “I’m a what?”

Shiro was laughing before Matt had gotten the question out. He’d heard the kids talk about their favourite show and how much they despised the villains that opposed their beloved characters, so he knew that it was Pidge’s best attempt at an insult on the same level as “gremlin”.

“What?” Matt asked, eyes turning to Shiro. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Shiro said in between laughs. “Nothing at all. Carry on. Sibling bickering, and all that.”

Matt huffed. Pidge was still huffing. God, they were so alike one another that it was frightening. Shiro forgot how similar they could be when they weren’t together, but seeing them messing around made him happy. Matt had always doted on Pidge, and there was no one Pidge looked up to more than his big brother. They were two peas in a pod.

Mr and Mrs Holt wandered out to greet them a moment later. Shiro shook Mr Holt’s hand and gave Mrs Holt a hug before going to fetch them drinks. Once everyone had a glass in hand (juice, for now) he and Allura gave them a quick tour of their house. The Holts seemed impressed, which made a weird sense of pride swell in him. They were like parents to him, after all.

“When are your parents arriving?” Mrs Holt asked, as they took a seat out the back. Matt was chasing Pidge around the house somewhere, but everyone else was outside.

“Soon, probably,” Shiro said. His mother had already messaged him several times that day, the last message being a reminder that they were on their way. “Allura?”

“Father has said he’s driving over now,” she said, smiling. “He’s picked Coran up now. Are they parking on the street or the driveway?”

“They can use the driveway.”

“Okay, I’ll tell him.”

Shiro leaned back into his chair and contently listened to the conversation. The weather really was nice that day; sunny, but not painfully bright, with a small, cool breeze that blew around the scent of cooking food. It was nice. Homely. He felt relaxed right down to every last muscle and bone. He leaned forwards to take a cracker off one of the trays Allura had put on the table, gave her one as well, and sunk back into his seat. In a manner than felt so natural that he couldn’t help but notice it, her hand folded over the top of his, just like Mr Holt’s naturally found its way to Mrs Holt’s. 

“I think Pidge likes the house,” Mrs Holt chuckled, as Pidge shot out of the back door and down the porch steps onto the grass, Matt in hot pursuit behind him. He had one of Balmera’s stick toys in hand, the one with a fluffy, feathered toy on the end, and he was waving it around like it was a sword. From across the yard, Balmera looked appropriately insulted.

It was shaping up to be a wonderful day.


	217. Ease

Shiro opened the door for Alfor and Coran when they arrived, who were soon followed by his parents. All of his visitors had met each other at some point, so Shiro let them familiarise with each other for a few moments before he and Allura showed off their home.

Getting approval from his father was oddly satisfying. Shiro always wanted to know that his father approved of his life choices; as a child, he’d looked up to his father in a very admirable way. He was a good, honest man, and he had worked hard to keep his family happy and healthy. There hadn’t always been times where Shiro appreciated that, but he did now. Shiro was very fortunate to have had a role model like him.

He wanted to be a person his father was proud of, a person his mother didn’t need to worry about so much anymore. After everything they’d done for him, he wanted to be someone who could put their hearts and minds at ease.

Shiro still admired his father a great deal. He admired mother, too. There was no one as confident as her. It was a thought that abruptly struck him as they were slowly making their way through the home. He wasn’t sure why it hit it out of nowhere like it did. Maybe it was because he had never done anything like what he was doing before – owning a home, carving out a life for himself, being with a woman he truly loved – or because he was actively seeking their approval, but he was glad his parents were there, in that moment.

He wanted to impress them.

Luckily for him, his mother was rather good at showing how much she liked something. She came in like a storm, carrying a bottle of wine that she forced an opinion on out of Alfor (“Is this one alright? I can run out and get something more to your tastes if you like. Are you sure you like this one?”). After marvelling at how much Pidge had grown, she’d promptly turned all of her wild attention to the house, and found it very agreeable. 

“This is just such a nice place, Shiro,” she said, pleased, as she put her arm around his waist. She was admiring the seat under the window, where he and Allura had hung up new curtains and placed out nice cushions for the day.

“The house, or the window?” He teased.

“The house,” his mother said with a fond sigh, “though I do like this seat, too. It seems like a place you’d fall asleep in.”

“He does fall asleep there!” Allura exclaimed, surprised by his mother’s accurate thoughts. “How did you know? I wouldn’t have guessed it.”

“Oh, he was always falling asleep under windows when he was a child,” his mother explained. “Just like a cat. If there was a patch of sun, he’d go right to sleep. We had to put his bassinet by a window if we wanted to get an afternoon full of rest, didn’t we, dear?”

That she directed at his father, who nodded in agreement. He wasn’t as energetic as Shiro’s mother, nor was he has talkative, but he got along with Alfor and Coran well. His expression was soft and open, something that Shiro knew meant he was pleased with what he was seeing. That was enough for Shiro to feel a strange sense of pride curl up in him. 

Maybe he was turning into the person he always wanted to be.


	218. Soft

Lunch was served with only a short delay due to slightly miscalculated cooking times. Shiro lifted Pidge onto his hip to help him choose what he wanted – Pidge held his plate steady with both hands while Shiro gave him a chicken skewer, a vegetable skewer, and some potatoes. The tomato sauce bottle was already sitting by Pidge’s seat at the table, ready to be used, along with a basket of bread rolls that Coran brought with him from a local bakery.

The meal passed quite pleasantly, Shiro thought. He wasn’t the best cook (he didn’t even want to think about all the times he’d burned food trying to bake) but this, at least, was something he could manage. All his experience from cooking during his Garrison days served him well, and everyone ate their fill. It made him happy to see his loved ones enjoying themselves like they were. Everyone had filled their plates with a variety of food, and nothing was left untouched.

Once the main meal was done, his mother cracked open the wine, and Mrs Holt brought out the cake she’d purchased for the occasion. Allura fetched plates and forks and a knife to cut the cake so everyone who wanted a piece could receive one. It was a chocolate cake, the kind with a soft, cream centre and a drizzle of chocolate icing over the top. Pidge enjoyed it greatly, along with his refilled glass of juice (poured into a wine glass at his insistence, so that he didn’t feel left out amongst the adults).

Shiro was very happy with how the day went. They spent the afternoon chatting out the back, taking advantage of the weather while it was good. His parents and Alfor (and Coran, by extension) seemed happy to have a chance to get to know one another better. The Holts, too. They were just as much a part of his family as his parents, Shiro thought. 

It was strange to think they’d all known one another through the Holts before actually meeting. Allura and Coran because of Pidge attending their kindergarten, and Shiro because of Matt and the friendship they had. Now they all knew each other because he and Allura were together. A strange thought, but certainly a nice one. He felt like it was a thought he could keep to himself in case he ever needed something to cheer himself up.

Eventually everyone decided to return home. Night fell quickly during the colder months, so before the sun had fully left, Shiro packed up leftovers for each respective guest and had a lengthy, if enjoyable goodbye. 

Alfor and Coran managed to extract themselves from the endless chatting first, and after hugging Allura and giving their last admirations for the house, they were on their way. Getting Shiro’s parents to move along was a little more difficult, mostly because his mother was stubborn and didn’t want to forget to say something. She hugged Shiro goodbye twice, and Allura three times, before deciding that was enough affection to last her until the next time they met (though as Shiro was seeing the Holts off, he knew his mother went back to give Allura another hug. He didn’t say anything about it).

The house seemed quiet without everyone over. Matt had gone back with his parents, driving his car, but would return later in the evening after he had dinner with them. Shiro and Allura spent a little while cleaning up, washing dishes and putting away food and throwing away rubbish. Shiro hadn’t had much wine, barely half a glass, but he felt warm and soft around the edges as if he’d had more than that.

When he tired of cleaning, he threw himself down on the couch, and waited for Allura to come join him. After a few moments, she did. He took up most of the couch so she simply laid on top of him, her chin resting against his chest, their legs tangled. Absentmindedly, he linked his arms around her waist.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” He asked.

She nodded. “I’m glad our parents get along.”

“Me too.”

“Your mother is nice,” Allura said quietly.

“She loves you,” Shiro said. His mother adored Allura, even more than he had expected her to. Something indescribable swelled up in him when he thought about it, knowing how much Allura missed her own mother. He’d been a little worried that his mother’s forwardness would make Allura uncomfortable, but the small smile on her lips told him otherwise.

He wanted Allura to like his parents just as much as he wanted his parents to like her.

“What about you?” Allura asked, as she glanced up at him. “Did you enjoy yourself, too?”

He laughed quietly. “Of course. I’m glad I didn’t burn anything.”

“You should give yourself more credit,” she said, laughing quietly. “You’re not a terrible cook, you know. Your dinners are always quite edible.”

“Trust me, I can’t bake. At all. There have been many ruined cupcakes in my cooking history. I can work a barbecue and a stove, but don’t let me near sweets.” He paused for a moment. “Unless Coran is supervising, I guess. Or you, for that matter.”

“You did make those treats for the kids a few months ago,” she mused. “Those turned out well.”

“I’d like to think so.”

She laughed quietly again, and pressed her cheek against his chest. A big, pleased sigh escaped her. “I don’t want to move,” she confessed. “Let’s just sleep here.”

He snorted, and sat upright. With one arm under her legs and the other around her back, he stood, taking her with him. Her surprised squeak was satisfying. “I would much rather be somewhere warm,” he said, giving her a teasing smile.

Allura’s face had gone very red very quickly. “Shiro,” she admonished, without any real effort, “put me down this instance.”

“What?” He said, feigning innocence. “I can’t carry my princess to bed?”

If it were at all possible, her face turned even redder. What a beautiful princess he had.


	219. Reappearance

Lotor was back.

Shiro was as surprised by the teen’s sudden reappearance as Allura was, though he was a great deal less annoyed than his girlfriend. They were just finishing setting up the kindergarten for the day when Lotor arrived, signalled only by the sound of a car in the parking lot and a knock on the door. The kids and their parents didn’t knock, knowing that they were free to walk in even if they were a little early in the morning.

“What are you doing here?” Allura asked, before Lotor could even squeeze in a hello.

Lotor scowled, looking all the more teenaged than he ever had before. Mornings didn’t seem to do much for him. “After I came all this way at the crack of dawn, you don’t even greet me with a ‘good morning’,” Lotor sniffled, turning his head away. He didn’t look truly offended, but more like he just wanted them to think he was.

“Good morning,” Shiro said, before Allura could snap something back. He put his hand on the small of her back as he came to greet Lotor, whose expression fell open at the sight of him. It was like he dropped the adult face he tried to wear, and instead he suddenly looked like a kid again.

“Mr Shirogane! What a pleasure to see you,” Lotor said. He looked much more awake now, like he’d been splashed with a bucket of cold water.

“Likewise,” Shiro said, laughing quietly. He ignored the way Allura huffed, finding Lotor’s sudden change in attitude quite amusing. “What brings you here?” 

“My father, actually!” Lotor said.

“More work experience?”

“No, no,” Lotor shook his head, and gave Allura a look out of the corner of his eyes. “Surely you must have heard by now, cousin?”

Allura pursed her lips.

“Well, Father is coming to visit,” Lotor declared. He suddenly looked so smug that Shiro was a little intimidated. He had a face carved out of wealth, Shiro thought. Like someone had given Lotor the most expensive features from the selection. “I told him how much I enjoyed working here with Mr Shirogane, and he’s interested in funding further events. It’s a great way to fix things between him and Uncle Alfor, is it not?”

Allura didn’t respond. When Shiro glanced at her, he could tell she was working over the new information, dissecting it for any hint of a lie or deception. Her sigh evidently said she found none, and she begrudgingly agreed with the teen.

“So is your Father coming to visit Altea?” Shiro asked.

Lotor nodded, and brushed a strand of long hair behind his ear. “Of course he is, he’s dreadfully interested in my life, even when I wish he wouldn’t be. He’s a nosy bastard.”

Shiro’s eyebrows went up. Hearing a rich voice come out with a poor word was certainly an odd thing, mostly because it was Lotor mouthing off. “You don’t get along?”

“You could say that. Teenagers are rebellious creatures, Mr Shirogane,” Lotor said, grinning wide and mischievous. “It’s my job to lead him around by the coattails. What fun would it be if I were normal?” 

“You worry us all with your childish antics,” Allura sighed.

Lotor’s grin widened. “You worry about me? How sweet.”

“Where are you spending the day? Not here, I hope,” Allura cut in before Lotor could rile her up any further. 

“No, no, I’m just here to drop off some paperwork,” Lotor said. He had a messenger bag slung around his shoulder, one that he twisted around to rifle through. A stack of paperwork was produced. “I do have school to attend, you know. You should be thankful I took time out of my morning to come here personally.”

“You know mailmen exist, right?”

Lotor scowled, and handed the paperwork to Shiro. “You could at least act happy to see me.”

Allura pursed her lips. Again.

“Anyway, I should be on my way.” Lotor awkwardly pat Allura’s hand when she didn’t extend it for a hug, and instead turned to wrap his arms around Shiro’s waist with a wide-eyed, innocent look on his face. “Goodbye, Mr Shirogane. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about making you my mentor once day!”

Shiro laughed, and pat Lotor’s back, before Lotor was rushing out of the kindergarten just as quickly as he’d rushed in. 

“You placate him too much,” Allura accused him. 

“He’s just teasing,” Shiro said. “He only likes me because you do.”

“No, he likes you because you’re attractive, smart, and _not his.”_

Shiro laughed again. “Don’t worry about it, princess,” he teased.

She rolled her eyes, and pressed her forehead against this chest. Her cheeks were red. “You’re right,” she said, “you’re _my_ boyfriend anyway.”


	220. Unapproachable

Zarkon was… an intimidating man, to put it lightly. Shiro had never met him before, but he knew of him from what Allura had told him in the past. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he was told Zarkon would be visiting with Alfor for business purposes, but he certainly hadn’t expected what walked through the doors early in the morning.

It felt odd to have a stranger in the building. Zarkon wasn’t very sociable: he greeted them like he was disciplining them, despite his generically friendly words. He was taller than Shiro and wore a hard expression matched only by the pressed lines of his suit. He reminded Shiro of one of his old commanders in the sense that he carried power like a weight around his shoulders, one he was more than happy to lift. Like it was something he pinned to his lapels every morning.

He was nothing like Lotor. Or, rather, Lotor was nothing like him.

“I don’t like having him here,” Allura said, as she and Shiro quietly rearranged the recreation room. They were moving beanbags to the opposite wall so Shiro could sweep behind before the day started. 

“I can tell,” Shiro said, though he wasn’t accusatory. Allura’s expression had been pinched all morning, her shoulders tense and defensive. It was like she was waiting for a snide remark or a rude gesture to be flung her way, though realistically it wouldn’t happen. Zarkon was polite because being rude was inexpensive to him, and he only seemed to like expensive things. “I don’t blame you.”

She let out a rugged sigh. 

Shiro really didn’t blame her. Zarkon put him on edge, too. He’d never met anyone like him, and it wasn’t just because he was extremely wealthy or because he had a bad past with Allura’s family. He was just… unapproachable. He felt like a puzzle, or maybe even a live wire, ready to spark at any moment. Shiro didn’t know how Alfor dealt with him for any extended period of time.

“At least Lotor is easier to deal with,” Shiro said.

“Comparatively.”

He snorted. “Well, I suppose that’s true. It’s easier to like Lotor though, isn’t it? Behind all the teasing, I think he’s a sweet kid.”

Allura sighed again. It was just as rugged as before. “Lotor doesn’t want to be like his father,” she said, “which is why I never truly turn him away. He’s seen what his father is capable of and chooses not to follow in his footsteps. Even if he is a little brat, I can’t hate him for being born into the family he has. He’s trying to find a proper place for himself.”

Shiro nodded. That was something he agreed with. After all, why else would Lotor – who could have interned anywhere he wished, with his father’s influence – come to a kindergarten for a week? He seemed to like children, but now that much. Childcare wasn’t exactly considered a high-end career choice, either. It wasn’t something Shiro himself choose out of desire; he had been desperate for work. If someone were to have told him ten years ago that he would be working with kids now, he wouldn’t have believed him.

He loved his job with all his heart, but it hadn’t ever been something he considered doing.

“Just try to bear with it, alright?” Shiro said, as he drew Allura closer. She sunk against him, her eyes closed. Her nod was defeated. He rubbed her back gently. “You’ll be fine, princess. Don’t worry.”


	221. Brilliant

Shiro was under the strict impression that Zarkon was not good with children. When he thought about it, he didn’t think Zarkon would have been good with kids anyway. He seemed like the type to use a babysitter, or perhaps the type that prioritised work over being home on time. If nothing else, his expression didn’t particularly invite children to flock to him.

The kids were… surprised by him, to say the least. Coran introduced him as Lotor’s father, which seemed to soften Zarkon’s imposing stare a little. The first day Shiro had met Zarkon wasn’t the day Zarkon met the children, it was the day after – the first day, he only stayed to file paperwork with Alfor. The day after they both returned to do the same thing, though this time both Alfor and Zarkon were around for a little longer. Lotor, too.

“I have a day off,” he said, when Allura gave him a disapproving look. He was meant to be at school, after all. Shiro didn’t know whether to believe him or not.

The kids were happy to see Lotor again. Lance in particular was excited to see Lotor, who he seemed to be quite fond of. Keith wasn’t impressed.

“Father, come look,” Lotor said, as he heaved Lance up into his arms. Lance was none the wiser to Lotor’s proud fascination over him and instead just giggled, carefully touching a hand to Lotor’s long hair. “This is Lance.”

Lance’s eyes trailed up – and up and up and up – to Zarkon’s face. Lotor had carried him over to meet his father, though at the sight of the tall, intimidating man, Lance seemed to shrink. He didn’t look frightened, because Zarkon wasn’t doing anything inherently frightening, but he just had that type of aura that made everyone else seem small.

“This is the child you rave over?” Zarkon asked. His ability to make a normal comment in a normal tone of voice sound dismissive was astounding. He hardly seemed to move as he looked Lance over. His eyes clearly demanded _what makes you worth something more?_

“Isn’t he the cutest?” Lotor said. He sounded proud. Shiro got the distinct impression that Lotor firmly believed Lance was a kitten, something he could show off. It was easy to see that Lotor was still a teenager in that moment.

The word “cute” was definitely not something in Zarkon’s extensive vocabulary. He bent down a little, just enough to lower his head more towards Lotor’s than to the ceiling. He held out one large hand towards Lance. “Hello,” he said. “I am Lotor’s father. It’s nice to meet you, Lance.”

Lance looked between Zarkon’s hand, his face, and then his hand again before deciding he wasn’t too much of a threat. He put his tiny palm in Zarkon’s, which was immediately swallowed up in a tiny handshake. “My name is Lance,” Lance said.

“Yes, I know.” Zarkon let go of Lance’s hand and straightened. He either seemed very impressed by Lance’s bravery or very unimpressed by the prospect of chatting with a child. 

“Why do you look so grumpy?” Lance said.

Shiro winced, but Zarkon didn’t look ruffled. In fact, Lance’s bold question made him slowly raise a brow.

“I don’t look grumpy,” Zarkon said. It was something he only said to placate Lance, and it certainly sounded strange coming from him. Shiro didn’t know whether to be horrified or amused.

“Yes you do,” Lance argued. “Are you sad?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then are you angry?”

“No.”

Lance frowned.

Zarkon frowned.

Lotor looked like someone had given him his weight in gold. “He’s just _brilliant,_ isn’t he?”

Lance looked appropriately flattered, though he probably didn’t understand what was going on. He kept one hand tangled in Lotor’s hair, the other holding onto the hem of his own shirt. 

The entire situation was going to make all of Shiro’s hair turn white.


	222. Purple

It wasn’t just Lance that Zarkon met that day, despite Lotor’s apparent eagerness to show of Lance’s redeemable qualities (what they were, Shiro didn’t know, but Lotor was very insistent about their greatness). Shiro spent much of the day navigating both Zarkon’s inability to converse with children and Lotor’s extraordinary ability to do exactly what his father couldn’t.

Allura was so hands-off about the entire situation that Shiro wanted to bang his head against a wall.

“I am not dealing with those two,” she said, every time either he or Coran looked to her for help. “I’ve already expressed my distaste for their presence here. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a hair and nails appointment with the girls.”

With that, she’d promptly wander away to supervise the kids, many of whom had gotten into the rewards chest to find the nicer toys, including fake makeup with synthetic brushes and little plastic pallets. 

It was easy for Coran to escape into the kitchen, which left Shiro supervising the kids who weren’t in the recreation room with Allura. His little group of kids were seated at a table painting. Lotor was squeezed onto the end of their table beside Lance, ostentatiously ignoring his father as he methodically entered and exited the office with Alfor.

For the most part, the separation between children and adults seem to be a good thing. The kids grew used to Zarkon’s presence, and although they weren’t keen to approach him, they certainly didn’t mind him working with Alfor in the office. Shiro was hoping that nothing would happen and that the day would go as smoothly as he hoped it would.

Of course, nothing ever happened that way.

He thought it might have been an accident. Might. Maybe. Maybe not, he couldn’t be sure when he thought about it too much. Either way, he was going to say it was an accident.

When the kids were done painting, they were asked to move their paint cups and brushes to the sink where either Shiro or Allura would wash them clean and set them out to dry. Keith had been doing just that, the blue and red clutched in his hands, when Zarkon and Alfor had exited the office once more. Neither adult noticed Keith, and if Keith noticed Zarkon, then… well, knowing his distaste for all things Lotor (including family members, it seemed) he probably just kept going.

One moment everyone was just walking, perfectly fine, nothing to worry about. The next moment slicks of paint were making purple on Zarkon’s expensive suit.

“Keith!” Shiro chastised, as he swooped it to pull Keith away from Zarkon. “What happened?”

“I bumped into him,” Keith said, eyes turned up to Shiro. He glanced at Zarkon. “I’m sorry, Mr Zarkon,” he said woefully.

His readiness to apologise made Shiro think it really had been an accident, but he couldn’t tell. If nothing else, Keith’s big, innocent eyes told him that Keith probably hadn’t meant it. Still, there were great big smears of blue and red paint on Zarkon’s suit that Shiro was one-hundred percent sure he couldn’t scrub out in the laundry sink.

“I’m sorry,” he said, as he put his hands on Keith’s shoulder to keep him still. He didn’t know what else to say. 

Zarkon just raised a brow. “It’s fine,” he said. It clearly wasn’t, but it wasn’t like there was anything they could do about it. Shiro tried to hide a wince. Alfor, standing behind Zarkon, tried more successfully to hide an amused smile.

Shiro had never wanted to crawl into bed more. He led Keith away when it was clear Alfor would handle Zarkon from then. “Make sure to be more careful in future, Keith,” Shiro said, his voice stern. 

“I will,” Keith promised. He looked at least a little guilty about spilling paint on Zarkon, but not enough to make it seem like he wasn’t on some level pleased about it. He was, however, quite abruptly affronted by the pleased glance Lotor sent his way. Shiro got the distinct impression that if Lotor could get away with it, he would have ruined his father’s expensive suit too, though in a much more purposeful and incredibly less accidental way.

Shiro just sighed. Kids.


	223. Adulthood

Winter ended with a storm. Shiro and Allura spent it bundled up at home on the window lounge, hands clasped around cups of hot chocolate. The storm itself wasn’t as captivating as the gentle lines of Allura’s face, but Shiro still found himself splitting his time between the two wonders, anyway. 

It was only after the storm had run its course that something strange occurred. Neither Shiro nor Allura had managed to coax Panther inside before the rain started, so when the clouds cleared up for a moment, he headed outside to see if the finicky cat had decided it would be better to cooperate (he hadn’t). What Shiro instead found, however, was a whimpering and wet dog.

“Allura?” He called over his shoulder, as the dog’s head swung up to look at him. “Can you bring me some towels?”

“Did you find the cat?” She asked. He heard her get up, her footsteps muffled by the thick socks she was wearing. 

“No, something else.”

The dog didn’t look young, and it didn’t have a collar. Shiro wondered if it had escaped it’s home during the storm, frightened by thunder or rain, but it didn’t look like it was owned by anyone. Aside from the lack of collar, its fur wasn’t trimmed or brushed, and its claws were long, and it was one meal away from having ribs that showed through its skin.

It was giving him the biggest pitiful look it could manage.

Allura was a bit wary about the dog, but its pitiful look won her over, too. She let Shiro carry it inside and dry it off with their spare towels. It didn’t protest, didn’t even flinch. The poor thing only whined the entire time, trembling so hard that Shiro felt like he’d knock it over if he dried it too roughly. 

“I wonder if it belongs to anyone,” Shiro said, as he fed the dog tiny strips of ham from their fridge. It had curled up on a towel in the kitchen, watching both of them with its most pleading expression.

“We’ll take it to the vet this afternoon,” she said. He could tell she wanted to remind him not to get his hopes up, but he couldn’t help it. There was just something about the dog that he liked, something more than its big brown eyes and helpless look. 

He knew that if there was someone out there missing the dog then he’d do all he could to help it make its way home, but there was some part of him that wished he could keep it, too. He’d always liked dogs, and had thought that maybe when they got a bigger house that they could get one. He hadn’t had a dog as a kid, and had loved taking Rover for walks with Matt when they were younger. A dog seemed like one of the pieces in his mind that made up what he thought was probably “adulthood”. 

Maybe he could give this dog what no one else seemed to have ever given it.


	224. Microchip

The vet said the dog wasn’t terribly unhealthy, despite being quite underweight and suffering from a minor ear infection. The dog – a boy – whimpered and whined the whole time, and shook like a leaf even when the vet touched it with gentle hands. 

“He doesn’t have a microchip,” the vet said, sighing, as she set aside the chip reader. “He’s probably a stray that got disoriented by the storm.”

“What happens to him now?” Allura asked. She held Shiro’s hand under the metal table in the vet’s office, her thumb rubbing over the inside of his wrist every now and then. He himself hadn’t said much; he was just worried for the dog. It kept giving him this _look,_ one that pleaded for affection. Shiro was a sucker for those puppy dog eyes.

“Well, he’ll probably have to go to a shelter,” the vet said. “We don’t have any foster families open at the moment, and we can’t put him back out on the street. If no one claims him, he’ll have to go to the pound to see if he can get adopted.”

Shiro’s heart sunk. The dog wasn’t a puppy, and he knew that older dogs struggled to get adopted sometimes, especially when they were sick. He had no doubt that the dog could live at least another ten years if it had the care it needed, and he wasn’t sure if going into a shelter would get that for him. 

Allura’s fingers tightened around his. “We can foster the dog for a while, if need be,” she offered.

Shiro gave her a hopeful look.

“Would you mind?” The vet asked. “We can put his picture up on the website, but if his owner doesn’t step forwards in two weeks, you two could probably keep him.”

Allura hesitated. She glanced at him, and seemed to both sigh and smile at the same time. “We’ll see if the cats like him. If his owner doesn’t appear, then we might be able to take him.”

It was an option, but that was all Shiro needed. The vet seemed relieved to have the dog go somewhere other than the shelter. She did a final check up on the dog, gave it an injection so that it would be safe around the cats, and sent them on their way. She made sure to give Shiro a list of favourable brands to feed the dog until it got its weight back.

“You’re already attached to the dog, huh?” Allura sighed again as he carried the dog back to their car. Luckily the dog wasn’t afraid of cars or motion, and it sat placidly in the back seat amongst a bunch of towels without so much as a bark. 

“He just seems… lost,” Shiro said, defensive. He gave the dog’s head a rub before shutting the car doors and climbing into the driver’s seat. 

Allura hummed. He wondered, for a moment, if she hadn’t wanted a dog at all, but she took his hand and quietly dispelled his fears by tracing patterns across his knuckles. “It’s okay, Shiro, you know I love animals. I’m just worried you’re going to get your heart broken.”

He gave her a puzzled look.

“What if he has an owner? He might not be microchipped, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t have him in their yard.”

He glanced away. That was true enough. He was trying not to get attached to the dog, but he was already reluctant to think he’d have to give it up. Of course, thinking that just made him feel worse. Why would he wish that the dog had been alone for all of its life? A sigh escaped him.

“Try not to think about it,” Allura said. She drew him closer and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. He found himself leaning into it. “You fall far too easily.”

“Only for you,” he whispered.

She laughed quietly, just a soft huff of air that passed through her lips, and gave him another kiss. “And the dog,” she teased.

This time, he smiled. “Maybe.”


	225. Fit

Two weeks came and went without any feedback from the vet. She had posted the dog’s picture on the clinic’s website, as well as sent it off to the nearest shelters and farms, seeing if anyone recognised the dog. They did not.

Shiro was the one who took the dog back to the vet to see how well it had been doing. Allura had a prior arrangement for the afternoon, but Shiro had been left off so he could tend to the dog. He’d spent the last fortnight caring for it, teaching it to trust him and Allura. He’d tried his best not to get attached to it – even going as far not to give it a name – but as hard as he tried, he just couldn’t bring himself to close his heart off to it.

There was just something about the dog. He loved all dogs, but _this one_ was different. This one was trying to tell him something he had yet to figure out.

“Well, his ear seems a lot better,” the vet said, as she ran her hand down the dog’s stomach, feeling for anything abnormal. She’d already looked into both of his ears and checked inside his mouth. “Did he finish off the tablets I gave you?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah, I just hid them in a slice of cheese and he didn’t even notice they were in there.”

The vet snorted. The dog whimpered. She rolled her eyes at it. “There’s nothing wrong with your stomach, stop being a baby,” she said, as she rubbed behind his ears. She looked up at Shiro. “His owners haven’t come forward, so he’s been officially surrendered to the state. You think you wanna take him home?”

Shiro really wanted to accept the offer straightaway, but he knew he had to ask Allura first. The vet let him leave the room to call her while she finished checking up on the dog.

Allura answered on the first ring. “How’s the dog?”

“He’s good,” Shiro said, as he leaned against a wall in the hallway. “The vet said his ear is all better and he doesn’t seem to have any stomach problems.”

“That’s good.” She sounded relieved. A moment passed. “His owner?”

“Hasn’t turned up.”

She sighed. “He gets along well with the cats, and doesn’t bark,” she said. “Do you think he’s a good fit for us?”

Shiro remained silent, knowing his voice would betray his eager hope. 

Allura still laughed as if she could hear it. “Aright, alright. You know I like him. Bring him home.”

Shiro grinned. “Okay, I will.”

The vet was pleased to find out Shiro would be taking the dog home with him. Shiro filled out the necessary paperwork and paid the vet fee and then he walked the dog back to the car. They’d been reluctant to buy the dog too many things in case it did have an owner, but a collar and a lead were definitely things they’d purchased. Considering he’d probably never been walked on a lead, the dog was surprisingly okay with it, just like he’d been with car rides.

“We’re going home, buddy,” Shiro told the dog as he gave it a grin. He helped it climb into the backseat of the car where all its favourite towels were bundled together. It gave him a tail wag, catching onto his excitement. 

He’d have to find a name for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what to call the dog ahh


	226. Laika

The dog settled in well. He grew attached to his towels and slept curled up in them beside the cat’s beds. He was remarkably well behaved for a street dog; he ate too fast but didn’t make much of a mess, he was house-trained, and he didn’t jump at people or on the furniture. Shiro was impressed with the dog’s gentle attitude. Allura was pleased, too.

Naming the dog proved to be a challenge. Shiro had grown used to calling it “the dog” and now that he was tasked with giving it a name, he needed to find something that fit it perfectly. News of his new pet had already circulated around the kindergarten, and then were many helpful – and some less helpful – suggestions. “Voltron” was the most common one from his unhelpful group of kids.

Pidge did suggest the name “Laika”, however. Shiro was pretty sure Matt had told him to say that considering the history behind the name, but Shiro kind of liked it. The name itself was a bit feminine and had originally belonged to a female dog, but it wasn’t like the dog could tell what sort of connotation the name itself had. 

“Isn’t that the name of a dog sent to space?” Allura asked, when Shiro sought her opinion on the name.

“Yeah,” Shiro said, “Pidge suggested it.”

“Pidge did? I thought he suggested Rover.”

“I think he had a little prompting from Matt about the name, but yes. Also, I told him we can’t have two Rovers, and he just laughed at me.”

Allura laughed quietly. “No pouting now. Well, the original Laika was a stray, so why not? It’ll grow to suit him, I’m sure.”

And that was that. “The dog” became “Laika”, complete with engraved tags and a collar with his name embroidered into the top side. The more Shiro started using the name, the more used to it the dog became, and within a week he was already responding to being called. It seemed that giving the dog a name solidified its place in their family, which was something Shiro was happy to realise. 

Laika adjusted well to a domestic life. He loved to sit by their feet when he or Allura were relaxing on the couch, and he followed Shiro around the yard when he was looking for the cats, and he only barked when a particularly loud motorbike shot down the street. Shiro started taking him for walks in the evening after dinner. Sometimes alone, but most of the time, he was joined by Allura.

He could tell Laika was growing on her. When she came home with a new tin of tennis balls for him to play with, he knew she was attached. The grin he sent her that evening made her huff and roll her eyes. 

“I was thinking maybe we could get Laika certified as a service dog,” Allura said one night, after Shiro had returned from his nightly walk with the dog. 

He unclipped Laika’s lead and watched the dog shake out his fur. “A service dog? Do you think he’s fit for that?”

“There’s training courses he can do to be certified,” Allura said. “I was thinking we could use him as a therapy dog at the kindergarten. It’d be for the business, so we wouldn’t have to pay for it.”

Shiro gave Laika a thoughtful look. Laika looked back up at him, tongue lolling, tail wagging. Even if Laika hadn’t had the best start to life, he was still gentle, and trusting of humans. He liked to have company and attention, but was generally okay on his own, too. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that the dog would be a perfect therapy dog. 

“How about we try him out with a few lessons?” Allura asked, after Shiro had thought about it. “We can get him certificates and training and everything.”

“I think it’s worth a shot,” Shiro said. “He’d be able to teach the kids how to treat animals.”

Allura nodded in agreement. “Alright, I’ll look into it.”

Shiro took a seat at the dining table beside her. Laika went to get a drink before flopping down beside Shiro, one of his front paws thrown over Shiro’s foot. Shiro smiled to himself and leaned down to scratch Laika behind the ears. 

Maybe Laika was capable of something brilliant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about naming the dog "Voltron", but "Laika" seemed to fit on too many levels to ignore haha


	227. Paperwork

“We have a picnic day coming up,” Allura said, as she passed a stack of paperwork over Shiro’s shoulder. “At the start of spring.”

Shiro faintly remembered something about that from the previous year, but he hadn’t been required to attend as a fairly new employee, so he didn’t actually know what went on during the picnics. They were held once a year, and were like the gala days he attended back in high school. Neighbouring kindergartens and child care centres would gather at a local sports field to have a day of sports and kid-friendly activities, like soccer and crafts and board games. 

“Is Alfor going this year?” Shiro asked. Usually, Alfor, Coran and Allura attended on behalf of Altea Kindergarten with the kids. Three carers were required to go from each centre, so Shiro wouldn’t have been surprised if Alfor went again. 

“No, he’s away on business still,” Allura said. She ruffled Shiro’s hair, grinning. “Looks like you’re stuck with us this year, Shiro.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly say I’m stuck. You know I love the kids.”

“Yes, but nearly two hundred of them?” She gave an exaggerated shiver. “Even I can’t stand it after a few hours.”

“That many?”

“Yes, about that. Classes usually have twenty-five to thirty kids, and there’s about seven classes attending this year, ours included. Looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun for the kids.”

Shiro nodded. He’d heard the kids talking about the picnic day last year, and knew they enjoyed themselves a lot. He was eager to see what the day was all about. “Are all the kids going this year?”

“Pretty much.”

It seemed like it was going to be a fun day. While he was still at his desk, he checked what the weather forecast was predicted to be, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was meant to be a sunny and fairly warm day. He knew the venue had an undercover area beside the sports field, so sun exposure wouldn’t be a problem. It looked like there would still be clouds and a small breeze, but that only really made the day more perfect, didn’t it?

It was oddly calming to organise events at the kindergarten. Sure, he did it in between filing paperwork, but it was an easy enough task. There were a lot of things he and Allura were organising at the moment – the picnic day, Laika’s training, their mortgage, when they’d be able to find time to go grocery shopping again… the list never seemed to end, but Shiro almost didn’t want it to. Sure, he could have done without the chores and the hard things (like the mortgage), but it was easy to focus on the fun things (like the dog training, and the kids at the kindergarten). 

“I can tell you’re thinking too hard,” Allura said, as she suddenly put her hands over his eyes. “Why won’t you swap places with Coran? It’s about time he did some paperwork.”

Shiro laughed, and stood from his chair, taking Allura’s hands as he did. “Alright,” he said, smiling. He wasn’t one to turn down an opportunity to do less paperwork. “I’ll send him in. Thanks.”

Allura stopped him to press a kiss against his lips. “Don’t overwork yourself,” she reminded him. Her gentle concern made his heart swell in the best way possible.

He kissed her again. “I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the short updates lately, I keep getting distracted playing Pokémon asfksdfh ^_____T


	228. Wake

Shiro was generally the type of person who didn’t sleep through disturbances. All throughout his time at the Garron he was taught to wake up at the found of an alarm or a light switch being flicked on or footsteps made by combat boots. It wasn’t difficult to assume that he was still like that; small sounds woke him, and although he didn’t often struggle to fall asleep, sometimes it was hard to stay that way.

Especially when it came to nightmares.

He didn’t get them much anymore. Being will Allura eased his worries and his mind, and with other things to think about, his sleep had been blissfully terror-free for quite some time. Shiro almost forgot they ever existed in the first place.

When he did get them, they didn’t last long. Not anymore. He woke up feeling less like he’d had a nightmare and more like his mind was trying to trick him into thinking it had happened. Sometimes he could tell what had woken him – a snore from Allura, a creak in the house, a dripping tap. Sometimes he couldn’t.

That night, what woke him was Laika.

Usually the dog slept by the cat’s bed, cuddled up to his towels. He was free to wander around the house at night, but he didn’t. Shiro wondered if they should buy a crate for him to sleep in at night, but Laika didn’t seem to need one. He was very satisfied with just his towels. But that night, strangely enough, he did wander around, straight into their bedroom. 

“Laika?” Shiro groaned, as he sleepily pushed himself upright. Tendrils of a dream curled at the edge of his mind, threatening smoke and fire and the feeling of an arm he no longer had. It was remarkably easy to ignore when Laika’s big eyes looked up at him, accompanied by a tentative whine. “What is it, buddy?”

The dog didn’t answer him, but he did lean his front paws against the bed to press his nose against Shiro’s chest. Shiro rubbed his head, trying to sort out whether he was awake enough to know what was properly happening. It was still very, very dark outside, and Allura was still slumbering beside him, blanketed in both hair and the quilts she’d stolen from him sometime earlier that night.

Laika whined again. 

“It’s alright, buddy,” Shiro said. He smiled a little as Laika’s tail began to twitch. “Do you want to go outside?”

But Laika didn’t. Instead, once the dog was certain of something completely unknown to Shiro, he wandered back off out of the room. Shiro listened to his claws click against the wooden floors as Laika headed back in the direction of his beloved towels. 

Shiro, still vaguely asleep, found the situation both very odd and very touching. He slouched back down under the covers when he was certain Laika wasn’t coming back and squeezed in beside Allura, curling up against her back. She made an inquisitive noise in her sleep, disturbed by his cold fingers and toes, but did not wake.

He was asleep again without any signs of trouble.


	229. Lazing

Most of winter’s coldest days were over now. Shiro liked the chilly transition between seasons, when trees were blooming in vibrant green and pollen had yet to permeate the air and the sun was out to push its warmth against frigid breezes. It was the kind of weather that inspired activity.

Unless, of course, he was fighting sleep in the warmth of the living room. Allura had declared it just a bit too much on the colder side of things to leave the heater off, so on it had gone. Warmth always provoked feelings of sleep, so could he really be blamed if he was dozing off? It didn’t help that Laika provided a particularly pleasant heat-pack, what with the way he draped himself across Shiro’s legs.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“No,” Shiro mumbled, as he peeked open an eye at Allura. She was leaning over him, her hair tumbling over her shoulders. She’d only recently gotten up, so she was still in her pyjamas. The sleepy, domestic look was a good look on her.

“You are,” she said, grinning. “You’re turning into me.”

He huffed, and turned his face away. “It’s too warm in here,” he complained. 

She laughed quietly, and pressed her hand against his forehead. Her skin was cool, and it made him sigh, leaning into the gentle touch. He had no doubt that his face was red from the warmth, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It wasn’t like Allura would mind if he was a little flushed, or anything. Maybe she’d think it was cute. He kind of hoped she did.

“Come on, time to get up now,” Allura said, as she patted a hand against his chest. “We have grocery shopping to do.”

He groaned. “Don’t want to. It’s too warm.”

“I can toss you outside, if you want. That’ll cool you down.”

He groaned again. “Allura.”

“Shiro.”

_“Allura.”_

_“Shiro.”_

He paused. “Fine,” he sighed, as he held out his hands. “Help me up.”

She did, rolling her eyes at Laika’s pitiful whine. “Such a needy boy,” she complained to him, even as she rubbed behind his ears. “Do you want to come for a walk, Laika? We’re going to the grocery store, soon.”

Laika’s ears perked up at the sound of that.

Shiro stretched as he stood, letting out a long yawn. The warmth of the room made him want to fall back against the couch and sleep. He only started getting ready when Allura jabbed her cold fingers against his side. For once, he was the one lazing around in the morning, reluctant to do anything. She was certainly rubbing off on him.

But only a little. The urge to be active was starting to trickle back in, and walking Laika was the perfect way get himself motivated. Even if he was sleepy, it was impossible to be truly tired when he had his girlfriend and his dog waiting for him. What more could he have ever wanted for himself?


	230. Sunscreen

As predicted, the day of the picnic featured nice weather of a pleasant temperature. The drive to the sports field wasn’t too long, so wrestling their class full of kids into the bus was an easy enough task. 

Shiro expected there to be a lot of children at the picnic – his conversation with Allura was fresh in mind – but even with that thought present he was still surprised when they got there. Each kindergarten gave their kids different coloured jerseys to wear, Altea’s being bright blue, so it wasn’t hard to keep track of the kids. 

But still, there were just so many. Lance loved the shirts and the company, as did many of the other children, and making sure they didn’t run off to find all their friends quickly proved to be a problem. Allura solved it with one quick, harsh set of instructions, but Shiro couldn’t help but think the kids were too distracted by everything to always remember it.

“Looks like we’re sharing a pavilion with the orange class again,” Allura murmured to Coran. They were heading the line of Altea students, bent over a pamphlet they’d been handed as soon as they entered through the field’s outmost gate. 

“That’s Rolo and Nyma’s class, right?” Lance asked, as he broke out of the line to walk beside Allura. “Are they here again?”

Keith hurried to catch up to Lance, frowning. “We don’t need to be friends with the other classes,” he said. “Just ours.”

Shiro’s eyebrows went up. Allura shot him a look over her shoulder that told him _please fix this problem._ He wasn’t quite sure what the problem was, but he hoped the smile he gave her was one that made her believe he did. From what he could tell, Lance – perhaps the entire class? – were often paired up with the kids in orange jerseys. Two classes each shared one of the shaded pavilions lining the field, so it wasn’t surprising that the kids were all friends with each other. If Lance remembered a few by name, then maybe he’d taken a shine to them.

And Keith was jealous.

Somehow, Keith’s jealousy was the only thing about the entire situation that Shiro understood clearly. He’d just never been around this many children before.

Their pavilion was marked by a large blue flag on one side and a matching orange one on the other. The orange class had already arrived and were busy setting up on half of the wooden picnic tables under the pavilion roof. Shiro, Allura, and Coran set to doing the same on their half of the shaded area. 

Coran had brought along all of their supplies. There was a handful of coolers full of juice bottles and water, as well as sandwiches and sliced fruit. Most of the kids had a backpack with their own food and water, but it was their responsibility to provide enough nutrition and hydration for the day. Coran was busy finding a place for it all as Allura spread clean plastic coverings over the tables while Shiro had all the kids put on their jerseys and nametags. It was a simple enough process, and soon he and Allura were liberally applying sunscreen and tying shoelaces, too.

“The itinerary for the day is pretty full,” Allura told him, as she gently rubbed sunscreen across Pidge’s arms.

Shiro glanced behind him, where the schedule was laid open on the table. He and Allura were seated on one of the adjoining picnic benches as the kids lined up to get their sunscreen applied (most of them did it themselves, but missed spots, or left the sunscreen only partially rubbed in). It looked like the plan was pretty jam packed. “Which activity are we doing first?” He asked.

“We’re on the B line,” Allura said, pointing to where a series of programs were listed under the first four letters of the alphabet, “so we’re going over to the water activities.”

“Yes!” Lance cheered. 

Shiro hushed him, worried he was going to get sunscreen in Lance’s eye as he tried to rub it across the bridge of his nose and his cheeks. “Okay, I see now. Water, then puzzles, then little lunch.”

Allura nodded. “Yeah. We’ll give the kids fruit so they don’t get tired. It’s only a half-hour break, but it’s the same thing we do back at the kindergarten, so it’s important.”

He nodded in agreement. The activities lasted anywhere between half an hour and two hours, depending on what was being done. After little lunch, their group’s next activity was something called “parachute”, followed by snakes and ladders, and then soccer. After soccer was lunch (Allura reminded him that this was lucky for them, because soccer was the most strenuous activity, and having lunch right after was the perfect coincidence). Lunch was followed by their last activity, a treasure hunt, and then they had an assembly planned to finish the evening.

“Looks like it’s going to be a fun day,” Shiro said, smiling. Allura nodded in agreement. A small hand touched his arm, and he glanced down to find Hunk looking at him with big, nervous eyes. Shiro gave him a smile too, and leaned down to tie the shoelace that had come undone. He made sure to double-knot it. Hunk was good with his hands, but he still struggled with his laces sometimes. 

When he sat back up, Allura pressed something cold against his face, making him jump. She grinned at him. “I can’t have my delicate flower getting sunburnt, can I?” She teased, as she held up the bottle of sunscreen.

That made him laugh. “Since when am I a delicate flower?”

“Shiro, honey, have you seen your skin? You’re as pale as a dove.”

“I’ll have you know that I hardly ever got burnt during my days in the Garrison, thank you very much. And I flew closer to the sun than you’ve ever been!”

Allura’s grin only broadened. “Sunscreen saves lives, Mr Shirogane.”

He laughed again. He’d never intended not to wear it, but having Allura fuss over him was fun, so he made a show of submitting to her wills. “Alright, alright, lay it on me. But don’t think I’m not returning the favour!”


	231. Steal

The orange class, Shiro thought, was quite similar to Altea’s class. Half were politely quiet and willing to follow directions, and half were politely loud, too distracted to hear instructions. There was no in between. It was easy to see why the classes were put together; they got along remarkably well.

Lance and two of the orange class students in particular. Shiro soon came to learn their names – Rolo and Nyma – simply because of the amount of times they were called to attention. That was mostly because they kept wandering over to crowd around Lance, which in itself didn’t seem so strange. Everyone loved Lance, after all. 

Once everyone’s nametags had been secured to their jerseys, both the blue and orange classes headed over to the first activity at the southern end of the sports field. Large trees circled the outer fence, lending them shade to mill around in. Coloured buckets were placed along the inside of the face, filled to the brim with water balloons. There were targets a short distance away, facing away from the rest of the field. Circles inside circles inside circles were painted on the board, each representing a different point value.

Water balloon throwing wasn’t the only water activity. There was a small pool filled with rubber ducks that the kids could fish up. Each duck had a number written along the bottom that corresponded to a small prize. It looked like it was going to be a lot of fun for the kids.

Allura stuck by Shiro to keep him company as Coran chatted with the carers from the orange class. They watched as the instructor told the kids the rules – as a whole, they’d all form groups of six and each have a target and a smaller bucket of water balloons to themselves. Each team would get a turn to pull a duck and win a prize at some point during their session. 

“Lance seems close to those other kids,” Shiro mused, as they watched the kids pair off into teams of six. Unsurprisingly, Hunk, Pidge, Keith and Lance were with Rolo and Nyma, mostly at Lance’s request (though Hunk and Pidge didn’t seem to mind). 

Allura laughed. “Yes, that’s certainly true. They became really close last year after teams of three were needed for an activity and Nyma snatched Lance up before anyone else could. They’re a year older than him, so I don’t know if they’ll see each other again unless they go to the same school. They do get along really well, though.”

Imagining Nyma – who seemed like a sweet girl, for all intents and purposes – stealing Lance right out from under Keith’s nose made Shiro want to laugh. No wonder Keith was jealous that the pair of rival classmates had Lance’s attention.

“They’re sneaky, huh?”

An amused smile breezed across Allura’s face. “As sneaky as kids can get, I suppose. They just love to play with Lance. Somehow, they make the small age gap between them much larger. Rolo and Nyma are pretty smart kids.”

“Are they?”

“Yeah, they like to tinker with things like Pidge does. It’s why they’re friends.”

That made sense. While Shiro believed that no one could ever top Pidge’s ingenuity (he was a little biased in this matter), it wasn’t impossible to believe that Rolo and Nyma were quite smart for their age, too. He’d watched the way the two of them lead their team to the best target (hidden in the shade) and how they evenly divided up the water balloons without needing to be asked. 

They were good kids, he thought. Nice, mischievous, perhaps a little competitive, though that was a good thing considering they were teamed up with Shiro’s kids. He thought they all made a good match up for activities like this.

Even if Keith was jealous of them.


	232. Rock

“You have to aim your arm a little higher,” Rolo said, matter-of-fact, as he tilted Lance’s arm upwards. “Like this.”

“The balloon will reach the target that way,” Nyma said, grinning. “Closer to the centre of the board!”

Shiro was impressed. The two older kids had taken their turns first (decided not by age but rather by rounds of rock-paper-scissors). Both Rolo and Nyma had quite good aims when it came to throwing the balloons, and they racked up a quick head start of points for their team. Pidge had gone next as per the winnings of their game, and after him was Lance. They each got three chances to throw the balloons for the first round, and Lance’s first one had been inches from falling too short of the target board.

Lance gave Nyma a cheeky grin in return as he easily took their advice to heart. The next balloon he threw hit more towards the centre of the board, making Lance cheer. 

“Good job, buddy,” Shiro said, as Lance turned around looking for praise from him, as the kids often did. 

It was nice to see everyone getting along, even if Keith was quieter than usual. He was intent on staying tucked behind Hunk, who looked like he was doing his best to coax Keith into interacting with the group properly. 

Shiro didn’t want to intervene yet, hoping that Keith would become used to Rolo and Nyma once he’d been around them for a little while. Allura didn’t seem as hopeful on the matter, but Keith had changed a lot in the last six months or so. Shiro believed in him.

Perhaps water activities just weren’t his thing. Keith was going last amongst their little group (he’d thrown a rock in their rock-paper-scissors game every time, for some reason, making him predictably easy to beat) and that didn’t seem to help his jealousy. Rolo and Nyma were showering Lance in attention, but it didn’t seem out of place for the situation. They were catching up with their friend, after all. 

When it was Keith’s turn to throw the balloons, he managed to hit the centre twice out of three turns, scoring their team just as many points as Nyma. Lance made expressive, proud shouts at Keith’s accomplishments, which did wonders for his mood. Keith almost seemed perfectly fine after having Lance’s attention back on him for a bit, and even managed to crack a small grin in his direction.

Shiro thought it would just take a little bit more time for him to come out of his shell.


	233. Charms

For the most part, Shiro thought the water activities were a big success. Lance’s team ended up coming second with the water balloon and targets game; a different team made up of three kids from each class came first. 

The duck pond activity was a lot of fun, as well. One adult accompanied each group to make sure the kids didn’t mess up the activity, and Allura let Shiro accompany his group of kids. She knew how much he loved spending time with them, and the kids had asked for him. It made her laugh even as he hid a flustered smile.

The pool with all the rubber ducks was set in the shade of one of the big trees outside the fence. It was one of those ones most houses had blown up in their backyards during summer if they didn’t have an in-ground pool or a local pool close by. Shiro was pretty sure he remembered spending summers lounging in one that Matt used to have squished into his yard somewhere.

Behind the pool was a table laden with six different boxes. Each box represented five numbers, the first being one to five, the second being six to ten, all the way up to thirty. The boxes matched the thirty yellow ducks drifting around the pool, and depending on which duck the kids fished up, they were allowed to pick a prize from the corresponding box.

Following another round of rock-paper-scissors, Pidge took up the fishing rod first. It was brightly coloured and made of plastic, with a little plastic hook on the end that was capable of fitting through the little metal loops on the back of the ducks.

Pidge fished up duck number twenty-seven without much of an issue. He held onto it, grinning, as Rolo took the rod next. His duck was number twenty-one. Nyma’s was twelve. Hunk’s was number one, which Lance helpfully supplied was fate, as “Hunk is the number one mechanic!” which Shiro thought was endearingly adorable.

This time, Keith didn’t end up going last (it almost happened, until Shiro reminded him not to always throw a rock, and he managed to beat out Lance in the last round of rock-paper-scissors). He seemed to have a bit of trouble with the fishing rod, which made Lance impatient. In turn, Lance stepped up to help his friend, carefully guiding Keith’s hand to scoop up the duck he’d been glaring at, frustrated.

“Ah, got it!” Keith’s face lit up when he finally managed to scoop up the duck.

“Check the number,” Lance encouraged.

Keith flipped the duck over, and found he’d fished up number fourteen. Lance took his turn next, with Keith standing beside him, and fished up duck number sixteen. That meant all of the kids would be choosing prizes from separate boxes, except for Keith and Nyma. 

Most of the prizes were little and enjoyable, things Shiro had seen at fairs and in lucky-dips. There were little puzzles where the kids had to tilt the toy to get tiny balls into little dips in the plastic, and tiny rubik’s cube keychains, and funny pens, and even little slinkies. Pidge pulled out a little green toy car that zoomed along a surface if he dragged it back a little. Rolo got a pen with a maze in it. Hunk pulled out an eraser shaped like an ice-cream, complete with a little ice-cream stick and a painted-on smiley face. Apparently, it smelt like chocolate ice-cream too, and he suddenly had the most enviable prize.

Lance eagerly pulled a prize from his designated box and found he had a little rectangular shaped box. It was thin and made from clear Perspex or perhaps hard plastic, and filled with this thick blue liquid that shifted when he tilted the toy. Inside were two tiny yellow ducks that never sunk beneath the liquid. Lance loved it.

Keith broodily held back from the prize box, instead letting Nyma choose a toy first. She pulled out a tiny pink flashlight, one on a keychain. Its light was very weak but it worked, and she seemed to like it. Once she was finished, Keith stepped up to the box.

His prize was a charm bracelet. Two, in fact. They were matching ones, held together by a rubber band that he quickly unravelled. A tiny half-heart charm hung from each, the stereotypical “best friends” charm that every kid had at some point in their life.

Shiro wasn’t surprised when Keith showed no hesitation in giving one of the bracelets to Lance.


	234. Puzzles

Their next activity was not entirely what Shiro expected. The schedule stated that their next activity was called "puzzles", and while he assumed it would be something like a board game, it was actually a little... _more._

The puzzles were large scale. The activity was set across the field from the water balloons without any shade from natural trees. Instead there were overhead shades decorated with flag-shaped bunting lifted up to provide relief from the sun. Shiro helped shuffle the kids along into the shade, knowing they'd get too hot out in the direct sun. 

The puzzle games were interesting. A new instructor showed the kids how to play with them - some were straight up large-scale puzzles, but others were big remember-and-match games, and things of the like. Shiro was honestly quite impressed with it all, as were the children. It seemed like it would be a lot of fun. 

The kids were left in their groups of six to play the puzzle games. These games didn't particularly require intense supervision from the adults, so Shiro and Allura stayed back in the shade to watch them while Coran continued to chat with the orange class's teachers. 

"Does he usually socialize this much?" Shiro asked, as he shrugged a shoulder towards Coran. The man was making extravagantly strange hand gestures, the type that Shiro had no clue as to what the subsequent conversation could possibly be about. 

Allura laughed, hiding a fond smile behind a hand. "Yeah, he usually does. He's like that with everyone, though he usually makes an effort to include me in the conversation too. He and my father get along with almost everyone here."

"Don't you want to speak with them too?"

"It's alright, I like spending time with you," she said, grinning. Coran knows that it's better when you have someone to talk to, so he doesn't want to leave you alone. It's intimidating being around all these new kids, isn't it?"

Shiro touched his prosthetic arm lightly. He had worn his long-sleeved uniform to hide it, even if it was hot and a little uncomfortable. He didn't want to scare any of the kids with it. Realistically, he knew the kids at Altea Kindergarten had become used to his arm, but all these new kids certainly wouldn't be. 

Allura put an arm around his waist and gave him a dazzling smile. "Don't worry about it too much Shiro, all the kids love you."

He smiled too, comforted by her words. He was just happy that the day was going well. He couldn't ask for more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something short for today, I'm away from home and didn't have much time to write ahh ^^"


	235. Strawberries

Little lunch immediately followed their puzzles activity. Shiro helped the carers shuffle all the kids from the combined classes back to their shared pavilion, where they each took their place at the picnic tables to eat their mid-morning snacks. 

“Shiro, I’ve got your food over here,” Allura said, waving him over. She was seated at the end of one of the tables with a container full of chopped fruit and two muesli bars sat in front of her. 

“I’ll be over in a minute,” Shiro said, shooting her a small smile. He was still fishing out juice bottles for the last few members of their class from one of the coolers Coran brought along. Once that had been done, he took his seat beside Allura, and accepted the fork she gave him. “I didn’t know you made this,” he said.

Allura grinned. “I made it when you took Laika for a walk last night.”

Surprise flittered across Shiro’s face. “So that’s why you wouldn’t come with me!”

“What, can’t a girl surprise her guy with some sliced fruit every now and then?”

Shiro laughed. Only Allura would think of something like that to say, he thought. She’d probably planned a witty line like that all night. It seemed like something she would do.

“So what do you think so far?” She asked. “Of the gala day, I mean.”

“It’s pretty cool,” he said, “and the kids seem to really love it. It’s nice to get out of Altea for a while on something we don’t have to organise.”

She laughed. “I know right? I feel lazy, since all we have to do is show up and get the kids to cooperate nicely.”

There was more that had to go in it from their side of the arrangement, but Shiro got what she meant. Even if they had to organise transport, jerseys, and food, the gala organisers had a lot more they had to do. Shiro couldn’t even comprehend the amount of work that had to go into organising so many different businesses. 

“Eat more,” Allura insisted, as she dug her elbow into his side. “I put extra strawberries in just for you.”

So she had. Shiro muffled his laughter with a forkful of fruit and let himself relax. The kids were making noisy chatter around the tables, eating their snacks and refuelling for the most draining part of the day. Their next activity would be something called “parachute” (he thought know what that meant, but the activity was behind the pavilions instead of in the field, so he hadn’t been able to get a glimpse at it yet). 

After everyone was finished eating, the instructor for their next activity came to collect them. Hats were put on, shoes were re-tied, and then the kids were all ready to go again.


	236. Parachute

“Parachute” did turn out to be what Shiro expected, after all. The activity’s instructor led them to an open space behind the pavilions, where a large, circular parachute of fabric lay stretched out on the ground. It was coloured with almost every colour Shiro could think of, and each colour was sectioned into a thin triangle around the entire parachute. 

“The aim of the game is for the people standing at the matching colours to swap sides when the parachute is lifted,” the instructor said, as she picked up one edge of the parachute. Each colour had a little fabric handle adjacent to it. “I want everyone to find a partner and then we can have a practice round, okay? Carers, too!”

Shiro had barely made a surprised noise before Coran was grabbing his arm, a devious smile plastered across his face. “No couples for the game!” He declared, as Allura shot him a sour look. “That’s cheating.”

“How is that cheating?” Allura demanded.

Coran’s grin widened.

That decided it. Shiro was paired with him on opposite sides of the parachute where the two dark orange triangles reached. Allura was paired up with one of the orange class’s carers. The kids quickly paired up, as well. Shiro wasn’t too surprised when Keith snatched up Lance’s arm before Rolo or Nyma could. 

Once everyone was at their place, the instructor told them to begin shaking the parachute. All the kids went right for it, jerking the fabric in every possible direction. Shiro fumbled with the handle before getting a proper grip on it. The array of colours that started to rise and fall in the air was mesmerizing. He could hear the kids laughing, but it was hard to focus on anything other than the sight of the giant parachute being tossed around.

It was much nicer to be able to see it from above, now that he was older and taller. As a kid he’d been stuck almost at eye-level with it, just like everyone else. He could remember it vividly, then; they did these sorts of activities in school, and even if there were no winners or losers, everyone loved it. His favourite part had always been the ending, when the parachute was tossed as high as they could get it and everyone rushed to find a place beneath where it landed.

The kids soon became used to the weight of the parachute, so the instructor began to call out colours. Immediately there were screams and laughs of joy as the corresponding children abandoned their place at the edge of the parachute to run beneath it. Shiro could just make out the shape of their heads in the waves of fabric. 

He was so fascinated by the sight of the parachute that he hardly heard his colour being called out. Only when Allura shouted at him to go did he realise Coran had disappeared beneath the fabric and was very likely gunning for his spot at the edge like a shark hunting its prey.

Shiro ducked beneath the parachute. The heat was just on the edge of suffocating, but he found he didn’t hate it. For a moment he was completely disorientated, and then Coran rushed past him, and he found his bearings again. Emerging from a gap in the figures around the edge of the parachute left by Coran, he found himself in the right place, feeling oddly dishevelled. He barely had a chance to grab onto the parachute before the next pair of kids were rushing underneath it, eager to take their turn.

As the next group went under the flailing parachute, Allura suddenly popped up beside him, her hair disarrayed. “Oh, Shiro! Having fun?” She asked, out of breath, as she grabbed onto her colour’s handle.

He nodded dumbly. Not for the first time, he was suddenly struck by the thought that his girlfriend had to be the most beautiful person in the world.

The kids seemed to enjoy the activity a lot, too. Shiro watched Hunk and Pidge change places with ease, and then Keith and Lance, too. By the time Keith and Lance switched for a second time, Keith was breathless and smiling, and Lance’s face was red with joy. 

It was hard not to be swept up in the furious motion of the parachute. Even Shiro could lose himself in the simple game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when we used to play with a parachute back in primary school, we used to try and balance a ball on it while the parachute was being jerked around haha. I can never remember what the point of the game was or how to win it, but it was a lot of fun!


	237. Ladders

The activity after “parachute” was “snakes and ladders”, a large-scale imitation of the well-known board game. A wide piece of plastic much like the mat from a game of Twister was spread out on a small portion of the sports field, held down on each corner by coloured cones. The plastic was printed just like the board game, with snakes and ladders intersecting the squares where the players were to move, acting as the pieces themselves.

There were six of these boards in total so half the class could play while the other half played with the normal sized game, which were set up on tables underneath a pop-up shade. Another instructor was waiting in the shade for the first half of the class to come join him.

Shiro was tasked with supervising his group of kids along with Rolo and Nyma. They had decided to stay in their little group of six, and had one of the larger boards to themselves to play with for half of their allotted activity time. The kids had already worked out the order they would go in and that they’d each get to roll the tennis-ball sized dice one time each before moving the corresponding amount of steps.

The game itself seemed pretty fun to play. Shiro sat at one end of the mat and let the kids toss the dice to him so he could read out how many squares they were to move along the board. They started in the bottom left corner and had to work their way up to the final square in the top right, where a crown logo was printed along with the word “finish”. If the kids landed on the bottom of a ladder, they got to follow it up to where its top rung lay. If they landed on the top of a snake, they had to follow its curvy body back down the board.

It was just like the actual board game. The kids were still full of energy from little lunch and their previous activity, and they played fairly enough. It helped that Shiro called out the dice’s number after they’d rolled it to him. 

Snakes and ladders was a pretty fun game, all in all. It relied much more on luck than on skill or experience, and whenever the kids landed on a ladder, their grins were positively adorable. Less so for snakes, but Shiro still thought their pouts were pretty cute.


	238. Soccer

The kids were scheduled for soccer after “snakes and ladders”, so when the activity was done (Rolo won, much to Keith’s chagrin, who came in a very close second), they headed over to the soccer field. Pop-up goals marked each end, and the perimeter of the field was laid out by lines of orange cones.

The teams for the match would be the orange class against the blue class. At first, Lance seemed dismayed that he wouldn’t be with Rolo and Nyma anymore, but his competitive nature outweighed his want to be with them. 

It was amazing to see how energetic the kids became when a competitive sport was involved. The instructors were supervising and refereeing the game, which left Shiro, Allura, and the other carers to sit on the sidelines and pass out water when necessary.

“They’re pretty fast when they want to be, huh?” Shiro remarked, as he watched Rolo shoot down the field with the ball at his feet. Most of the kids were still pretty young so they weren’t completely coordinated, but they more than made up for it with enthusiasm.

Allura laughed, and nodded her head. “They sure are. They’ll tire easily though, so it’s a good thing we have lunch next. They’ll probably sleep on the bus ride home.”

Shio smiled to himself. He watched Lance expertly steal the ball from Rolo as he tried to pass it to Nyma and instead kick it towards Keith with all his might. Lack of coordination was definitely made up for with enthusiasm, and there was more than enough to go around. All of the kids were having a go and participating, and that’s all they could ask for.

The soccer game, which somehow managed to end with a tie, was followed by lunch. The organisers put on a small barbecue for all the classes – the kids got a sausage or a chicken patty (vegetable ones for those who did not eat meat) and a slice of thick bread. Most of the kids had brought their own lunches, and carers had nutritious snacks, but it was a nice gesture from the organisers, and was much appreciated by the children.

Like Allura had said, their kids were quite exhausted after playing soccer. Shiro went around retying shoelaces, refilling water bottles, and reapplying sunscreen where necessary. They still had one more activity to go before the day was finished, but with forty-five minutes for lunch scheduled, there was plenty of time to recharge.

“Having fun?” Shiro asked, as he retied a loose shoelace on one of Lance’s shoes.

Lance nodded. “Yes! Did you see me kick the ball, Shiro?”

“I sure did,” he said, laughing. “What about you, Keith? Are you happy?”

Keith, who was busy eating, only nodded. He was a pretty active kid and had done well during their soccer match. His cheeks were still flushed red with exertion. Shiro ruffled his hair and made sure to refill Keith’s water bottle before finally settling down for lunch himself. He’d made Allura and himself sandwiches the night before, which she’d already started to eat.

Their next activity was a treasure hunt, which was pretty self-explanatory. Shiro knew the kids would enjoy it. “I wonder if I’ll have enough energy to walk Laika tonight,” he said, sighing.

Allura laughed quietly, and comfortingly rubbed his hand. It was a rather teasing gesture. “I’m sure you’ll manage once Laika gives you his big, pleading eyes. You always crumble when those are aimed at you.”

He laughed, somewhat embarrassed. She wasn’t wrong.


	239. Partner

Lunch was followed by a treasure hunt. Their activity instructor came to collect them and led them to an area between the field they were in and a second one. Picnic tables, a row of smaller pavilions, and a line of trees populated the space designated to the activity. 

“Alright, I want everyone to pick up one of these maps before I explain the rules!” The instructor said, as he held out a box full of laminated paper. Each child took one out of the box on the way in before sitting down in a huddle in front of the instructor. 

One of the maps was passed back for Allura and Shiro to share. He took it with a smile and whispered, “Thank you,” to the child at the back of the group who handed it to him. Allura peered over his shoulder so they could see the map. It was printed with bright and colourful images showing where the picnic tables, the trees, and the fences around the sports field were. A list of items to find were printed beside a row of check-boxes down one side of the map. A reminder to stay within the bounds of the activity was printed down the other.

“The goal is to find everything on the list,” the instructor said, as he gestured to the list on the map. “Everyone will form pairs of two, have one map and one marker, and will check off what they find in the box next to it.”

It was an easy enough task, Shiro thought. The things the kids needed to find were fairly simple – a beanbag, a toy car, an apple, and a bouncy ball were on the list. Natural things like a stick with two ends and an orange-coloured leaf were on the list too. When Shiro peered around the field, he did see little coloured objects hidden beneath bushes and in the long grass. 

The children quickly formed pairs. Lance was scooped up by Nyma right out under Keith’s nose, much to Keith’s evident annoyance. Pidge and Hunk were together, and Rolo ended up with another boy from his class. Shiro watched Keith flounder for a moment, nervously shrinking into his shoulders as he did. He was still a quiet kid, despite how energetic he was around his friends. Comfortable around his classmates, less so with the orange class.

“Does our group have even numbers?” Shiro asked, turning to Allura. 

She frowned. “I don’t think so.”

“Can I be Keith’s partner, then? He looks a little lost…”

Allura glanced over at the instructor, who seemed about ready to come over to them, and they nodded at each other. “I don’t see why not,” she told him. “Looks like they need an extra person, anyway.”

Shiro smiled. He pressed a small kiss to her cheek and left her with their map before wading through the crowd of excited children to get to Keith. The kid looked almost frantic until he caught sight of Shiro, and then Shiro had Keith attached to his legs, little hands fisted in the bottom of Shiro’s shirt. 

“Shiro, can you _please_ be my partner?” He said, voice edging on a whimper. “There’s no one else…”

“Of course, buddy,” Shiro said, as he put his hands on Keith’s shoulders. “Do you have our map?”

A wave of relief crossed Keith’s face, and he gave Shiro a tiny smile. The map was clutched under his arm, so he pulled it free and brandished it. “I have it,” he said.

“Perfect.” Shiro turned Keith around and led him back to where the instructor was rounding up the kids to repeat the rules of the game. 

Keith sat down, and Shiro knelt beside him, painfully aware of how much bigger he was amongst all of the children. At least the orange class had become used to his presence during the day, Shiro thought. He hoped the rules wouldn’t take too long to explain, he didn’t like sitting on the ground and being so out of place. For Keith, however, he dealt with it. All the other kids and their partners were together, so he stayed with his. Keith had even grabbed a hold of the hem of Shiro’s shirt again, like he was afraid he’d suddenly be left without a partner. Shiro found he didn’t mind sitting on the ground after thinking that thought.

Keith’s happy expression was worth a little discomfort.


	240. Hunt

“We have to win, okay Shiro?”

Shiro laughed. “Alright, alright. Let’s do our best, okay?”

Keith gave him a small smile. He had the marker they’d been given in one hand, and held onto Shiro’s left hand with the other. When the instructor set them off to find all the things on their list, Shiro let Keith take the lead. 

Finding their list of items proved to be rather simple. Shiro thought that their little team of two had a bit of an unfair advantage – namely, himself. He could see higher than the kids and wasn’t as distracted by the excitement of the activity. He left most of the finding to Keith, and instead only caved in and helped him when he started to get noticeably lost.

Shiro held onto the items they found as Keith checked them off the list. They found a small beanbag tucked between the wooden slats of one of the picnic tables first, and then Keith spotted an orange leaf hanging on a low branch, so Shiro picked him up to pluck it free. 

“We just need a car,” Keith said, as he held up the map for Shiro to see. All of the boxes on their list were checked off except for the car, which was still blank. Shiro double-checked he had everything Keith had marked off before nodding.

“Alright, let’s go find one.”

Keith grinned. “Quickly! I want to win!”

Shiro laughed quietly. He’d already helped Keith a bit, so he’d have to let Keith find it on his own so that the other kids wouldn’t feel like his helping Keith was unfair to them. Keith was a pretty perceptive kid, so he let Keith lead him around wildly, trying to find a toy car that hadn’t already been spotted by a different team.

After a moment of searching by the fence, Keith suddenly let out a triumphant noise. He pulled a small black car out from the grass at the bottom of the fence and held it up for Shiro’s inspection. 

“Good job, buddy,” Shiro said, as he let Keith add the car to the precarious amount of objects in his arms. “Make sure to mark it off on the map.”

Keith uncapped the marker to do just that. Once he’d done that, he gave the map an appraising look, before shooting Shiro a smile. “We’re done!”

“Let’s go and see the instructor, then.”

As it turned out, they were the second team to finish. A group of kids from their class had only just beaten them, but Keith didn’t seem to mind. He just looked happy to have done well, which relieved Shiro. He sat with Keith at the picnic tables while they waited for the other kids to finish. Keith was switching between watching Lance and staring at the tabletop. 

“You alright, Keith?” Shiro asked, as he leaned down closer.

Keith looked unsure. “Lance likes Nyma more than me,” he finally said.

Shiro was surprised by the small confession. He knew that Keith didn’t like it when Lance was distracted by Nyma, and Rolo too, but he didn’t think it was because Keith was still unsure of his place in Lance’s life. “I wouldn’t worry about that too much, Keith,” Shiro said, as he put a hand on Keith’s back. “Lance is your best friend.”

“But am I his?” Keith fretted. “What if Nyma is nicer than me?”

Shiro sighed. “Everyone is different, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “You’re smart and fun and lovely to be around. Lance, Hunk and Pidge are all your best friends, so don’t worry too much, okay? Everything will be fine.”

Keith nodded. For once, he looked like he really believed Shiro, and that made Shiro incredibly happy. He wanted to make sure Keith was as confident in himself as he could be while he was still under Shiro’s care.

“You’re a good kid, Keith,” he said. “Make sure not to forget that.”


	241. Tired

At the end of the day, Shiro was exhausted. The kids had sat through the last announcements at the picnic quietly and slept on the bus ride home, just like Allura had said they would. Shiro probably could have done the same, if he knew it were allowed.

He hardly wanted to move by the time they finally arrived home. He drove them from the kindergarten to home because he knew Allura was tired as well, which she seemed to appreciate. She had originally offered, but Shiro had only shaken his head. Allura had put a lot more work into organising the picnic with the attendees, so it was only fair that he drove home. 

Still, arriving home was incredibly satisfying. He fed the cats and Laika early, and started on dinner while Allura showered. She finished cooking while he took his turn in the bathroom, and then finally they were able to sit down. His feet had never thanked him more. There was nothing better than relaxing at home.

After dinner, they retired to the couch, and somehow managed to both squeeze in together. Shiro laid behind Allura with his arm around her waist and his fingers threaded through hers. Allura’s hair was still somewhat wet from her shower, but they had the heater on, so the coolness of it was rather pleasant. 

“We forgot to wash up the dishes,” she said, as she idly traced patterns over the back of his hand.

“It can wait for tomorrow,” he said. He nosed through her hair to press a kiss against the back of her neck and smiled when it produced a soft huff of laughter. 

“If you say so.”

Laika wandered over to nudge at Allura’s hand, the one that was hanging over the edge of the sofa. She obligingly rubbed behind his ears. Shiro hadn’t taken Laika out for a walk that evening, but the dog didn’t seem to mind. Shiro half thought it was because he liked getting attention from Allura. It was a sentiment he understood very well.

“You seem all tuckered out,” Allura said, as she glanced back at him.

“I am,” he said. He could feel a yawn building in his throat, but he swallowed it back. “Aren’t you? We did so much today.”

She hummed. “Did you enjoy it?”

“I did.”

“The kids did as well.”

He laughed quietly, and nodded in agreement. “They sure did. Keith is still not that great at making friends, huh?”

“He’s been better this year,” Allura said. “Last year he didn’t say a word to anyone else, and he didn’t want to participate in any of the group activities. He pretty much stuck to Coran and I the entire time.”

Shiro struggled to picture it. “I guess he’s leaning to be more confident in himself,” he finally said. “I’m glad he’s been able to make friends.”

Allura nodded.

Shiro sighed, and closed his eyes. He was happy the day had been such a success. The kids were happy, Allura was happy, he was happy. He was always amazed by the events the kindergarten pulled off, and this one was no exception. He’d never realised just how much of a community there was around until he started working at Altea.

He wondered what the next event would be.


	242. Pom-Pom

“Now just pull the yarn off your fingers,” Allura said, as she watched Shiro struggle with the task at hand. “Make sure not to let go of it, though. You don’t want it to unravel.”

He nodded, completely concentrated. He was using his left hand to hold the yarn and his right to wind it. Little bits of fraying fluff kept getting snagged in his joints, but he wanted to make at least one complete pom-pom before the night was up. “This is stupid,” he said, not for the first time, as the yawn caught in his fingers and ripped (also not for the first time).

“No, this one will work,” Allura said. She carefully took the bundle of yarn from him, unravelled one loop, and then gave it back. “It doesn’t matter if the sting is a little short, it just needs to tie around the middle.”

Shiro sighed. They were sitting on the floor in the lounge room, surrounded by tufts of yarn and failed projects. Tomorrow at work they’d be teaching the kids how to make pom-poms, and while it was a relatively simple task, Shiro couldn’t manage it with his prosthetic. He couldn’t feel the yarn, and the fragile string kept snagging in his prosthetic joints. 

“I just want to make _one,”_ he said, pitiful. He wasn’t sure if the kids would ask for his help when it came to this activity, but Allura assured him they most certainly would, so he wanted to know what he was doing. He’d never made pom-poms and wasn’t particularly good with crafts, but he’d feel awful if the kids wanted his help and he wasn’t able to manage such a simple thing.

“This one is working,” Allura insisted. She handed him a pair of scissors once he’d managed to tie the loose thread around the centre of the coiled string. “Now cut the loops and fluff up the yarn.”

He did as he was told. Tying the yarn was always the hardest part – this was only the second time he’d managed to do it without messing up. The first time he’d gotten this far he hadn’t tied the string around the middle tight enough and all the yarn threads had fallen away. This time would be different, he hoped. It seemed to be going well at least.

When he was finished cutting the yarn loops free, he held up the pom-pom and gave it a critical look. It was uneven all over and covered in frayed bits of fluff, but was definitely pom-pom shaped. He offered it to Allura. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s great,” she said, without hesitation. She took the scissors back from him and set to carefully trimming the edges of the pom-pom, evening it out. “See? It’s perfect.”

He offered her a wane smile. If anyone had told him five years ago that he’d be spending his evenings learning how to make pom-poms, he wouldn’t have believed them. He still hardly believed it now, but it wasn’t an unfavourable thing to be doing. “It’s far from perfect, but it’ll do,” he said. “This isn’t exactly a skill I ever thought I’d need.”

Allura laughed. “Yes, working at a kindergarten is like that. Honestly, these things get kind of annoying to make after a while. Yarn gets everywhere and giving the kids scissors worries me. Plus, Coran can made like twenty of these in ten minutes flat. I don’t even know how he does it.”

“Sounds like something he’d be able to do, though.”

Allura laughed again, and carefully set Shiro’s pom-pom amongst the small pile she’d made while helping him. “That’s certainly true.” She took his prosthetic hand and began to carefully pluck loose bits of fluff free. 

He kept his hand completely still, a pensive look on his face. He didn’t hate Allura touching his arm – quite the opposite, in fact, and he really appreciated her help – but there was still that knee-jerk reaction in him that declared he shouldn’t accept any help at all. He shook it away.

“There we go, all clean,” Allura said, as she turned his palm back over and patted the back of his hand. 

He wished he could feel her skin when she did that. She’d done it to his other hand, of course, but this was different. 

“What are you thinking about?”

He startled at the question, and forced another wane smile. He hadn’t realised he’d been staring. “Nothing much.” He clenched his prosthetic fingers. “Just hand things.”

She hummed, sounding somewhat displeased, like she was upset that his mind had strayed down such a path. “Well, don’t think about that for too long,” she said. She drew him closer by the prosthetic hand, urging him to put his arms around her waist. “I need both hands on me if I’m going to relax properly.”

Somehow, just that one action was able to break through the clouds in his mind. He muffled his laughter into her hair and pressed his palms flat against her back.

Even if he couldn’t feel her with one hand, she could feel him with both. What he perceived as incomplete was complete to her. That’s all that mattered to him.


	243. Photocopy

One of the easiest activities they did at the kindergarten was colouring. A stack of colouring books were put away in one of the office drawers for safekeeping, and when it came time for a colouring activity, one of the adults would choose a bunch of different stencils to photocopy and hand out. There were more than enough coloured pencils and crayons to go around, so it was generally a very relaxing activity.

This time, Allura asked Shiro to pick out the designs and photocopy them. Coran was busy preparing lunch and she was trying to find where they’d put the pencils while the kids were still distracted with their last activity. He’d chosen a few images to photocopy before, but he knew how important the selection was to the kids – they each had a favourite type, and so the carers made sure that there was a decent enough variety for the kids to choose from.

He started with flowers. There was a book filled with them, everything from roses and daisies to tulips and lilies. Almost all of the kids enjoyed colouring flowers (especially Hunk, particularly when sunflowers were involved). There was another book full of little patterns, so he printed out a few pages from that one, too. There was one of Disney Princesses (Cinderella and Mulan were popular choices from the class). 

Some of the colouring books were more like fill-in-the-colour activities. Tiny numbers filled each section of the image and corresponded to a number listed down the side of the page. He could remember doing them when he was younger, and was sure to print off a few of those designs, as well. They were good for those without a creative sense for colours, like himself. The thought made him laugh to himself.

Allura checked in on him just as he was finishing up the photocopying. “Did you get the machine to work alright?”

He nodded. Photocopy machines were notorious when it came to malfunctioning, and theirs was no exception. A workplace didn’t feel complete without a frustrating photocopy machine, Shiro thought. Even the Garrison had had one that needed a bit of a kick to get going. He could still hear it rattling away if he thought about it for too long.

“It’s all good,” Shiro said. He held up his stack of photocopies. “Enough, do you think?”

“Yeah, looks perfect.” She absentmindedly flipped through the copies and paused on the fill-in-the-colour ones. “I forgot we had these!”

“I remember doing them when I was a kid,” Shiro said, laughing again. “I used to do them wrong, though.”

“Oh?”

He hummed. “I would only colour in the numbers, not the whole shape. I didn’t realise the whole thing had to be coloured.”

Allura laughed. “Oh no! Really?”

“Yes, really,” he said, embarrassed. “I didn’t know any better!”

“I assume someone told you, though?”

“Yes.” He paused. “I didn’t believe them, though.”

She laughed again. “You poor thing,” she teased, as she pulled him down to press a sweet kiss against this cheek. “Don’t worry, I’m sure the kids can teach you how to do it!”


	244. Mopping

Shiro was washing the floors on the weekend when Laika suddenly came sliding down the hallway. He hadn’t really expected it – the house was quiet, save for the quiet sound of the radio and the methodical thumping of the mop as it moved from bucket to floor and back again.

Laika had come out of nowhere. Shiro knew that Laika wasn’t particularly fond of hardware floors, though he’d long since become used to them. Perhaps not when they were wet, however. He heard Laika approaching quite a bit before he saw the scruffy dog. When he glanced back down the hallway, wondering what had excited Laika so much, he found that the dog was having a bit of a problem.

Namely, he couldn’t get his feet under him on the wet floors.

“Laika-!” Shiro dropped the mop in his haste to grab the stumbling dog before he could knock over the water bucket. Laika was panting, looking either amused or horrified, Shiro couldn’t tell. He heaved Laika up, groaning, to carry him away from the wet floors. “You can’t come down here, buddy. I’m trying to clean.”

“Are you alright in there, Shiro?”

Instead of taking Laika to the lounge room, Shiro took him out the back, where Allura had called him from. She was repotting their plants into larger planters, taking advantage of the weather while it was warm and breezy. She raised a brow at the sight of their dog, to which he replied with a shy smile. “Laika came sliding down the hallway like it was a slip-and-slide. I don’t think he’s used to wet floors yet.”

Allura laughed. She pulled off her thick gardening gloves so she could pet Laika’s head after Shiro had carefully put him down. “I’ll keep him distracted out here, if you want.”

“Thanks,” he said with a sigh. “I’m almost done, but I’ll need to redo the hallway, and let it dry before he can come back inside.”

Allura nodded. “Alright. Did you do the kitchen already?”

“Yeah, it’s dry. I left the porch door open so the breeze could come in.”

“Ah, that’s how the dog got in.”

“I thought he would be occupied for longer in the garden,” Shiro admitted. “He was sleeping in the sun when I last checked on him.”

As if Laika knew he was being spoken about, he wandered back over to sit at Shiro’s feet, tail wagging. Shiro crouched own to pet him, and smiled when Laika slumped against him, completely trusting. The longer Laika was with them, the more affectionate he became.

“He loves you too much,” Allura said, sighing wistfully. “Can’t bear to part with you.”

Shiro laughed.

A faint smile crossed Allura’s face. “I’m being serious, you know,” she said. “Partially, anyway. He really does grow bored far quicker if you’re not around. Why else would he brave the wet floors, if not to find his friend?”

Shiro laughed again, unable to help himself. “He’s not going on a great journey to cross the kitchen floor, is he?” He teased. “I think he was just bored.”

Allura grinned. “If you say so, dear. But you’re definitely his favourite human.”

Shiro found that to be a rather surprising thought. He’d never considered that perhaps he was Laika’s favourite, even though he was with Laika almost all of the time he was home. He was usually the one that fed, bathed, and walked the dog, too. He’d never been a pet’s favourite owner before. It was true that Laika often came looking for him…

He was sure to finish his mopping twice as fast so he could spend more time with Laika instead.


	245. Sense

When Shiro woke, he was briefly disorientated. Thoughts slipped out of his grasp for several moments before settling, and he slowly pieced together what had happened. He’d gone to bed earlier that night, feeling fine, sleeping easily. He’d had Allura tucked into his arms, all warm and pliant and sleepy.

What had woken him, he noticed after a moment, was Laika. The dog had found his way into their room again, the door nudged open. He’d somehow managed to get up on the bed without disturbing either Shiro or Allura, and had crept up to lay down against his side. Laika’s nose was pressed against his shoulder and throat, and soft huffs of air was escaping his muzzle, like he wanted to whine.

Shiro lifted a hand to rub Laika’s ears. “What is it buddy? Something wrong?”

Laika only looked at him.

This wasn’t the first time the dog had woken him during the middle of the night. If Shiro tried hard enough, he was sure he could remember dreaming of something unpleasant, but he couldn’t name what it was. He was starting to think that perhaps Laika was doing it on purpose. Allura had mentioned several times that he would be a good therapy dog…

Maybe that was why she was so keen on getting him classes, Shiro thought. Maybe Allura wanted Laika to help him, too.

Absentmindedly, he turned his head to glance at his sleeping girlfriend. She was turned towards him, one arm tucked under her head. Her cheek was pressed against the pillow, mouth open the slightest bit. As usual, her hair was in complete disarray, falling across her face and her pillow and even his own half of the bed in an unorganised and frantic manner. It would surely be quite painful to brush when she woke.

He was glad that neither he nor the dog had woken her. Shiro returned his attention to his loyal pet and spent quite a few moments rubbing behind Laika’s ears. Only when he was almost asleep, eyes dropping closed, did Laika stand and silently clamber off the bed. He watched Laika’s dark shape slip out through the door, and listened to his claws click against the wooden floor.

He wondered what it was that Laika sensed in him when he was having a bad dream. How did the dog know? Maybe he’d never find out.

After turning onto his side and settling under the arm Allura, in her sleep, put over him, he was soon again fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in a bad car accident today, no injuries but a lot of expensive damage, completely my fault. Chapters may be slow or lacklustre and completely unedited for a few days. I'm sorry. I'll try to fix them later.


	246. Lance

Lance was unusually clingy come next Monday, Shiro thought. He didn’t think it was for any apparent reason other than the fact that Lance wanted attention from him, and he didn’t mind that. A want for attention was much better than a want for reassurance or comfort over something distressing, which is what he originally feared it might have been. 

“And then the Blue Lion went _bwuah!”_ Lance exclaimed, as he threw his arms out so suddenly that Shiro almost lost his grip on him. “Blue can shoot ice, Shiro! Isn’t that the coolest? She’s so amazing!”

Shiro laughed quietly. He didn’t really watch the show all his kids seemed so enamoured with, but he – for the most part – understood what Lance was fawning over. “Sure does, buddy,” he agreed. “What did the Blue Lion do next?”

Lance was more than eager to continue telling his story. It was late in the afternoon, when more than half of the children had already been picked up by their parents and taken home. Lance was the only one from their little group left, as his mother had rung ahead to say she would be a little late in picking Lance up that evening. Lance didn’t mind, and he still wouldn’t be the last child there, but he did seem a little lonely without his friends around.

That was why Shiro didn’t mind giving him a little extra attention. All of the other kids were preoccupied with each other or toys or Coran, who had taken to playing with the largest group of remaining kids by the big dollhouse. Without anyone to particularly interest him, Lance had stuck himself against Shiro’s legs, demanding to be picked up and entertained. Shiro didn’t mind.

Sometimes he forgot just how much of a kid Lance really was. Sure, he was often very childish in his mannerisms and attentions, but there was an undercurrent of innocence and purity to his affections that struck Shiro as very honest and deep. Lance loved with all of his heart, completely unbridled and unguarded. It was so opposite to what Shiro recognised in Keith that he wondered how the two had ever become so close.

Of course, they had had a “rivalry” for quite some time, so maybe it wasn’t too hard to imagine.

But still, Lance was a sweet kid. Hunk’s whole-hearted kindness and Pidge’s intelligence and Keith’s steadiness were all things Lance was gaining simply by being around them. If Shiro thought about it, he could see parts of Lance in the other children, too – his confidence in himself, his overt friendliness, his willingness to smile for the sake of others. 

They really were a great group of children. Never in his wildest dreams would Shiro have thought he’d meet people like them. Their marvelousness was deeply enrooted in their youthfulness, and had he not taken up this job, it would have been a sight he’d never known he would have missed. Woking this job allowed him to see the kids come into themselves, and that was only something he was recently learning.

He ached to think of the day they would graduate, but it was a happy ache.

Still, some part of him secretly thought that perhaps their heartfelt friendship would never have come into fruition without Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's already the 29th where I live, but I plan on writing something for my favourite boy's birthday tomorrow, when I have a bit more energy and mindfulness ❤
> 
> For now, Happy Birthday Lance! ❤


	247. Rainy

A week of bad weather announced itself with a storm. Shiro and Allura spent the Sunday evening before it sitting on the window chaise, surrounded by pillows and gently billowing curtains. Even if the breeze was a bit nippy, it brought a fresh scent to the house, so they kept the uppermost windows open to allow it entrance.

“Do you think it’ll rain all week?” Shiro asked, as he carefully leaned over to put his empty teacup on the floor. Like usual, the window chair remained his favourite in the house, and sitting in it made him pleasantly drowsy.

Allura put her cup down beside his and shifted on the couch so that she could lay her head cross his lap. “It might,” she said, as she fixed her gaze out of the window. Rain was starting to splatter against the glass, casting light shadows across her dark skin. It was a rather beautiful effect. 

He turned his head to watch it, too. The street was quiet at this time in the afternoon, and there were no cars about. Even if trees bent in the gentle wind, looking worse for wear in the weather, it was oddly serene. “I hope the trees in the backyard at Altea are alright. They lose branches easily when the wind picks up too much.”

Allura hummed in agreement. “They should be alright, most of the weak ones dropped away in winter. Only the thicker ones are still there.”

He nodded in agreement, though she wasn’t looking at him. He’d spent many mornings cleaning up the sticks in the backyard before the children arrived for the day. He had no doubt that the trees would grow thick and leafy again once the weather warmed up, but for now they seemed somewhat bare and despondent.

The trees in their own backyard seemed to do rather well in winter. It was something he noticed a few weeks ago, when it was particularly cold and the trees remained thick and green. He wasn’t sure what type of trees they were, but they would certainly lose a lot of their leaves in winter, which would need to be cleared away. Leaves were much easier to clean than branches.

For the time being, Shiro allowed himself to unwind. He carefully run his fingers through Allura’s hair, his knuckles and fingertips ghosting down her cheekbones and across her forehead, until she was drowsier than him. 

Rainy evenings were perfect for relaxing.


	248. Entertain

As it turned out, the rain did persist. The kids couldn’t play outside when the equipment was wet and the dark clouds were threatening to break again at any moment. It made them restless, Shiro found. The children enjoyed sunshine, and although the rain was still pretty, it was nothing like being outside.

It meant the adults at Altea Kindergarten had to come up with quite a variety of inside activities. Colouring, crafts, and movies could only keep the kids entertained for so long. They did enjoy the sudden surplus of cooking activities, but again, there was a limit that had to be on those, too. They couldn’t feed the kids sweets all week just to keep them entertained.

“It’s tiring finding new things to do,” Allura said, as she draped herself across the back of Shiro’s desk chair. Her hands found his, and pulled them away from the desktop. “Shiro, do something funny.”

He laughed quietly, and brought one of her hands to his lips. “Isn’t paperwork interesting enough for you? If you’re bored, you can do mine.”

Allura groaned. She pressed her forehead against the back of his shoulder. “Do you know how many times I’ve heard _Allura, I’m bored!_ today? I’ve lost count.”

“Well, the kids are bored without the backyard to play in,” he said. “And we’ve already watched all of their favourite movies. They want to stretch their legs.”

“So do I,” Allura said, sighing wistfully. She drew her hands back to herself and pressed a kiss to his forehead before taking a seat in her own chair. “I love the rain, but I hate the effect it has on the kids. They don’t want to curl up and read by a window, at least not all of them. It’s not like we can kick a ball around inside.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” he said. “Why don’t you print off more colouring sheets for now? Coran will be starting on lunch soon, and then we can think of something to do for the afternoon.”

Allura nodded. “Alright, that’s a good idea.”

He watched her shuffle around the office, pawing through the colouring books until she found a nice variety. She was much better at choosing them than Shiro was, and was soon wrestling with the photocopy machine to get them all printed. “What do you normally do?” He asked, after a quiet moment. “When it rains like this, I mean. I can’t really remember being here when it’s rained all week like it has.”

Allura hummed in thought. “Well, all the usual activities, I guess,” she said. “We try to open the doors at least when the rain stops, just so fresh air can come in. Sometimes we’ll let the kids play hide and seek in the dark, as long as everything has been put away. It’s always a bit of trouble to keep them occupied.”

“Well, we’ll think of something,” Shiro said.

Allura set aside all the photocopies to join him at the desks again. “I love being here, but when the kids are restless, I can’t wait to go home,” she said, sighing.

He took her hands again, and rubbed his thumbs over the back of her palms. No one loved their jobs enough to not begrudge it sometimes, he thought. “It’s okay, we’ll think of something,” he said. “If worse comes to worst, I’ll just let the kids think I’m a robot again.”

At that, Allura couldn’t help but laugh.


	249. Dripping

Shiro hadn’t ever owned a dog before, so he didn’t know what to expect when it came to Laika and the persistent rain that week. Well, he hadn’t thought anything of it at all, actually. The cats did their own thing when it rained and Laika was usually always inside, so he’d never considered that perhaps they should shut him in while it rained so hard. It hadn’t occurred to him that Laika might still go outside if he wasn’t taught to stay out of puddles.

They’d installed a doggy-door for Laika the previous week so that they didn’t need to keep the back door propped open all day, like they had been doing. The dog could get in and out just fine, and although he wasn’t fond of the rain, that hadn’t seemed to stop him from wandering around the yard for the better part of that day. It became very clear when Shiro and Allura arrived home that Laika hadn’t thought to stay inside while the rain poured.

“Honestly, he even got the cat’s bed wet,” Allura said, as she mopped the floor dry with towels. “At least he didn’t get on the couches.”

Shiro could tell she wasn’t truly angry with the dog, but it had been a bit surprising to come home to a wet floor. Laika’s bundle of towels were by Balmera’s bed and Panther’s towels, so when the dog had come inside from the rain, he’d dripped over everything. While she set to putting out new things for the pets, Shiro went to give Laika a sorely needed bath. His paws had gotten unbelievably muddy, so he needed to be cleaned before he could be let loose into the house.

“Don’t worry buddy, it’s not your fault,” Shiro said, as he rubbed a soapy hand behind Laika’s ears. As if the dog could tell what they were speaking about, he flicked his ears back, looking oddly ashamed of himself. “A bath and you’ll be all clean again.”

Laika whined quietly.

Shiro rubbed behind his ears again, just a little towards his chin. He knew Laika loved that spot, and sure enough, the dog’s eyes went warm, and his tail started to wag. There was a deep part of himself that was satisfied to know he could make his dog happy, Shiro thought. It was nice to be able to return the favour.

Once Laika’s fur had been cleaned, Shiro helped him out of the bath, and covered his face with his arms as Laika gave an almighty shake. Water splattered across the floor – he’d have to dry it before either he or Allura had a shower – but drying Laika came first. The dog seemed to enjoy having the hairdryer aimed at his face, if his lolling tongue was any indication. 

“How’s it going in here?” Allura asked, as she appeared in the doorway. She looked pleased to see Laika all clean, and affectionately pet his head. “Come on you, I’ve already got your dinner ready in your bowl.”

Laika obediently followed her after glancing back at Shiro once.

Shiro spent a moment drying the floor before following them out. Allura was in the midst of putting out food for the cats, so he pressed a kiss to her forehead and went to start on their own meals. Even if their evenings were a little disrupted by all their pets, Shiro wouldn’t have changed anything. He liked learning new things about being a pet-owner, and even if he preferred learning just how cute Laika could be in his sleep, learning that he shouldn’t he let out when it was raining was still a good experience.


	250. Walks

The rain let up, eventually, so Shiro returned to taking Laika for a walk in the evenings. It was a pleasant evening for a walk, he thought. Even if the ground was still damp and the air still carried a scent that perhaps promised rain later over the weekend, it was good to get out for a little walk. It wasn’t too cold or too warm or too crowded. Shiro enjoyed the type of weather they had that day quite a lot.

Allura joined him for the evening, too. He thought she was going to stay home, seemingly engrossed in whatever it was she had been doing, but she joined him at the door at the last minute to help slip Laika’s harness on properly. The dog didn’t need one to help with walking on a lead, but Shiro preferred to have him pull on the harness rather than on a collar around his neck (though he wore both).

It was nice walking with Allura. She let him hold Laika’s lead, and the dog walked on his free side, so that he didn’t tangle with their legs or cut across their path. Allura was usually always enthusiastic and curious about everything, despite the fact that their actual walk never usually changed. That night was no different. Shiro always took Laika around the neighbouring blocks because there weren’t many roads to cross or places for him (or even Laika, for that matter) to get lost, but the scenery was still fascinating.

The excitement of living in a somewhat new neighbourhood hadn’t worn off on either one of them yet.

Sometimes they passed other dogs on their walks, which was a nice for Laika. He was still a little wary around the dogs that barked or jerked towards him too fast, but the quieter ones he liked. He would always give them a greeting sniff and let them jump all over him without so much as a whimper. They passed kids or parents pushing strollers sometimes too, and he never barked or pulled the leash trying to get to them. He was getting much better at walking now that Shiro took him as frequently as work and the weather allowed. He seemed less afraid that he was going to be left out on the streets alone.

All in all, Shiro enjoyed the walks. The fresh air was pleasant and getting some exercise made him feel better and he liked spending time with Laika outside of the house.  
Allura linked their hands when they walked, too. 

Maybe that was his most favourite part.


	251. Apples

On a trip to the grocery store, Shiro and Allura stumbled across Lance, his eldest brother, and his mother out buying a few things. The market Shiro and Allura went to was perhaps a bit out of the way for the McClain family, but it had a lot of foreign or special items that the usual supermarkets didn’t carry.

“It’s so nice to see you two again,” Mrs McClain said, as she gave Allura a friendly hug. It was Lance that had first spotted them, and promptly attached himself to Shiro’s legs. “Lance, you silly monkey, let him go.”

“It’s alright,” Shiro said, laughing, as he picked Lance up to rest him on his hip. “Funny seeing you here, buddy. Are you sure you’re not meant to be at kindergarten today?”

“No, Shiro!” Lance said, giggling, as he hid his grin behind his little hands. “It’s the weekend now. No school!”

Shiro made an over exaggerated gasp. “I didn’t know!”

Lance giggled again.

“Do you know where I can find this?” Mrs McClain asked, as she showed her shopping list to Allura. She’d written the things she’d needed on a little blue note-pad page. Her handwriting was very neat, unlike her son’s. “I haven’t been here in a while.”

“Oh, I know where that is!” Allura pointed down one of the aisles, giving Mrs McClain clear directions. “It should be along the middle shelf somewhere.”

“Thank you, dear,” Mrs McClain said, as she gave Allura a sweet, relieved smile. She sent her youngest son a glance. “Would you mind watching Lance for a moment? I’m just going to go and grab it…”

“I don’t mind,” Shiro said, laughing. “We still need to get apples anyway.”

“Thank you Shiro, I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Lance was too preoccupied with fiddling with Shiro’s collar to notice his mother and brother darting down the aisle. “Did you know that Keith is coming over today?” Lance said, drawing Shiro’s attention back to him. “We’re going to watch Voltron!”

“Are you now?” Shiro said. He adjusted his grip on Lance and used one hand to pull Lance’s away from his shirt. “Are you here getting nice food for your sleepover?”

“Yeah!” Lance nodded. 

Shiro laughed quietly. Seeing the kids outside of the kindergarten still sometimes gave him a jolt. It felt like he was seeing a whole new person, even though they wore the same expressions and had the same voices. Outside of the kindergarten, he wasn’t Shiro the teacher. He was just Shiro.

“Well, until your mother comes back, why don’t you help us choose some apples?” Allura asked, as she held up one of the recyclable paper bags the store provided in its fresh produce section. 

Lance’s eyes lit up. “Sure!”

Shiro struggled to keep a steady grip on Lance as he reached over to help Allura choose apples. He chose nice looking ones, without bruises or dents, and carefully placed them into the paper bag Allura held open for him. 

“My, what cute parents they make,” an older woman murmured as she passed them by. 

Shiro glanced up at the same time Allura did, wondering who the woman could possibly be talking about. When it dawned on him that it was _them,_ he abruptly went red, and spluttered. Sure, Lance’s skin tone was dark (not as dark as Allura’s, but it wasn’t hard to believe his other parent was lighter, more like Shiro) so he didn’t think it was so farfetched to think he could belong to them, but the thought of having a child – with _Allura._

Shiro wasn’t prepared to think about that without feeling like he was going to combust.

Allura only laughed, and if her cheeks hadn’t been so red he would have thought she wasn’t embarrassed at all. The woman had already moved on and Lance hadn’t heard a word she’d said, but he and Allura had. 

It was a strange little moment, Shiro thought. Mrs McClain came to collect her son and they parted ways after chatting for a moment. Their day continued without incident, but Shiro still couldn’t help but recall that woman’s comment whenever he didn’t mean to.

She’d said they were cute, hadn’t she? That was a good thing, right?

He’d only really started thinking about things in the future – like owning a house, kids, marriage – when he’d fallen in love with Allura. He wanted kids, if they were with her. If she wanted them, too. Was he the type of guy a girl like her would want kids with? He was good with them, he thought. Allura was too. 

Her kids would be cute, he couldn’t help but think. Pretty like her, with her dark skin and bright eyes and her mane of silvery hair. 

God, he was in so deep.


	252. Comforting

He wasn’t sure what it was, this time. The car that backfired on their street in the middle of the night woke him, and perhaps it was that. It probably was. Either way, whatever it was, it brought Laika running, but Shiro was too disorientated to appreciate his concern.

He had been doing _well,_ why did this have to happen? He could see it vividly in his mind, like it was happening all over again. Even now, years ago, time had done little to blur what he could remember of the accident. Sleep made him vulnerable, and no matter how hard he wished for his unconscious mind to forget what had happened, it recalled that moment constantly. 

“Shiro? Why are you awake?”

He jumped at the hand that came to rest on the back of his shoulder. He glanced at Allura, who had pushed herself up against the mattress. Thick blankets lay slanted across her shoulders, still caught against her from how tightly she tucked herself in at night. Her hair was a cloud of tangled white.

She frowned, sitting up further when she caught sight of his watery eyes. “Shiro?”

“It’s nothing,” he said.

“Don’t lie,” she said.

He closed his eyes, but he only saw smoke. Caught between her imploring, painfully caring stare and his probing nightmares, he had nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide. So he put his arms around Laika, who whimpered and whined with every second inhale. “I just… I just don’t know what’s wrong with me. Sometimes…”

“Sometimes…?” She prompted, gentle and soft. Her hand came to rest against the back of his neck, still warm from sleep. 

“Sometimes I don’t feel like myself.” The words tasted sour, but he swallowed them anyway. “I keep thinking I’m better, and then one thing happens, or I think of something, and it’s like… it’s like nothing’s changed.”

Allura put an arm around his waist. Her touch was tentative, like she was afraid he’d flinch away from her. She was silent for a contemplative moment. “I think you’ve changed,” she said. “Granted, I don’t know how you were before your accident, but since I’ve known you… Shiro, you know I love you, right?”

He jumped again, but nodded. “I love you too,” he said. If there was nothing else he knew for certain, he knew that. 

“I really do, Shiro,” she said. “I love you so much, so I feel I’m a little biased when it comes to seeing you from the outside. But to me, you couldn’t be more perfect. I know you don’t see it, and that you don’t believe it, but I just… I wish that you could see what I can see, or that I could do more to help you. I can hardly remember what it felt like to live without you. I feel as though, if I didn’t have you by my side, I would be truly lost.”

Shiro reached for her hand, and held it tightly. Allura’s words embedded a place for themselves in his heart. Like his nightmares, he didn’t think he would ever forget them, but they were a burden he was more than willing to carry. When Allura pressed her face against his shoulder, he rested his cheek against her head, and let tension ease out of him. “I want to believe that, too,” he said. “I do believe it. Some of it.”

“That’s more than you could have said twelve months ago,” Allura whispered. “I know it’s hard, Shiro, especially at night. I hear you wake up sometimes, and I know I can’t do anything, even if I want to.”

“You do more than enough,” he said, and he meant it. 

She squeezed his hand, effortlessly reassuring in a way only she was. “What do you dream about?”

He knew she knew that it was his accident, but it occurred to him then that he hadn’t ever actually told her what had happened. What he saw. “My accident,” he said. “When the plane went down.”

“Shiro-”

“No, I want to say it,” he said. She squeezed his hand again, and hushed Laika when he whined. “I’ve… I’ve talked about it before, with therapists, and Matt. And my parents. But not you.”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” she said.

“I know.” He paused. “It’s not going down that scares me,” he said, “it’s the impact. Explosion. Whatever it was. It’s when the plane filled with smoke and I was- was torn from the seat, and stuck up there knowing something really wrong had happened. I don’t even remember falling.”

“That sounds…”

“I know,” Shiro said. He knew what she was trying to say, but couldn’t. “The sound of it was… loud. Metal grinding on metal. It’s one of the only things I remember perfectly.”

She closed her eyes. He could feel her eyelashes against the bare skin of his neck. “I can’t imagine it,” she said.

“I don’t want you to ever know it.”

“Do you think you’re getting better?” She asked. “I want you to tell me honestly, Shiro.”

He thought about it. After his accident, nothing had felt right. He couldn’t even remember when his arm had been so badly damaged that it couldn’t be saved. Sleep hadn’t come to him peacefully for a year, at least. The idea of happiness or quietness was so far removed from himself that he hadn’t even believed in it.

But Allura, and his job, and the kids… 

They soothed a part of him that no one else had been able to. He didn’t know if it was because the kids were innocent, or because his job was safe, or because Allura loved him, but he wasn’t like how he had been before. Even if he sometimes struggled to see it, he had changed. He liked to think that it was finally for the better.

“I think I’m getting better,” he eventually said. “I just… get annoyed, because sometimes I feel so glad for everything I’ve got, and then something little happens, and I can’t control it. I’m tired of it, of it lurking around every corner. Why can’t a car backfiring just be that?”

Allura pursed her lips in a thin, helpless smile. “It will be, eventually.” She rubbed her hand over his stomach, where her arm was still curled around his waist. “Just not yet.”

He nodded. Laika whined, so Shiro rubbed behind his ears, and took several calming breaths. Allura coaxed him to lie down again, so he did. The dog curled up across his legs, stubbornly refusing to leave. 

“Don’t be afraid to wake me if you need me, Shiro,” Allura said. She pulled the covers over them and crossed an arm across him, holding him close. “I just want you to feel okay.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Allura was always the sweetest comfort he could ask for. He pressed closer to her, and felt sleep come again. 

Even if – for now – a car backfiring wasn’t a car backfiring, Allura always had and would be _Allura._ He adored her with all his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up binge watching season three and getting all emotional asdjksdjkh my heart can't take all this new content it's too exciting and suspenseful!!


	253. Lesson

Shiro was helping out in the kitchen that day. They were having the kids help prepare their lunches that week, something which Shiro thought was both interesting and odd. For starters, most of the kids couldn’t actually reach the top of the bench comfortably without a stool, so they had to use their dining tables like usual. He hadn’t started making his own lunch until his mother had finally deemed him old enough, and even then he was supervised by her for a while, just to make sure he didn’t only pack unhealthy things.

But it was still a helpful skill to learn, he thought, even if the kids seemed a bit young. They seemed to enjoy the experience and that was all that mattered, really.

Coran started the activity by teaching kids about the food pyramid. Shiro was busy cutting up vegetables for the sandwiches they were going to make for lunch, so he couldn’t sit in on Coran’s lesson, but he could still hear it. The kids weren’t terribly interested in it all, not when they knew food and fun was coming, but they listened patiently, and respected Coran’s teachings just as well as they normally did.

When the educational part was done, the carers at Altea began to bring out the food. The kids were all seated at their tables in small groups, hands washed and aprons on. Shiro set down plates of vegetables and sliced meat and bread at every table. 

It was Coran’s activity, so he stood back, content to watch. Allura came to join him after a moment.

“Coran looks like he’s having more fun than the kids,” Allura remarked, amused. It was true – Coran was brandishing condiments like they were swords, sending uprises of giggles amongst the children. “I wonder if they’ll end up having enough to eat, or if they’ll just eat the ingredients and forgo the lesson.”

Shiro laughed quietly, and nodded in agreement. “That’s the question, isn’t it? At least they’re having fun.”

“That’s true,” Allura said, laughing too. “Coran the most. These sort of activities never turn out too educational when we try to make them into lessons.”

Shiro could see why. The kids were having too much fun to see the point of the lesson, but no one wanted to disrupt them. “Well, at least they’re eating healthy,” he said. “I didn’t spend the last hour chopping up lettuce and tomatoes for nothing.”

“Any left for us?”

“Of course,” he grinned. “Our food is in the kitchen, already made. I made chicken and ham, I didn’t know which you wanted.”

“Aren’t you just the sweetest?” Allura gave him a smile, and patted his arm. “We’ll wait until the kids finish messing around with Coran before eating, shall we?”

“Probably for the best,” Shiro chuckled. It would do no good if the kids got distracted from the task at hand by them. For the time being, Shiro was happy to watch the activity unfold, Coran’s crazy antics and all.


	254. Botanic

When spring arrived, it brought with it a parade of flowers and blossoming trees. Allura spent hours in their garden planting new things and tending to the ones that had grown while Shiro fixed things around the house or played with Laika. 

As a free weekend rolled around, Shiro decided to take Allura on another date, just the two of them. They hadn’t been out with the intention of only enjoying themselves in a while, and he’d missed it. He thought it was about time he pampered his gorgeous girlfriend again.

He took her to a botanic garden. There was one about an hour’s drive away, and he’d been to it once before, but that was a long time ago. He knew Allura would like it, and considering the gardens had a café right in the centre of the grounds, he knew they could have lunch there and make a nice date of it. 

“This is a wonderful place, Shiro,” Allura said, as she linked her arm through his and gazed around curiously. He could feel the excitement in her bouncy steps. “Where do we go first? Do you have a plan for us, or anything?”

He laughed, delighted to see her so happy. As they’d entered the gardens he’d picked up a map from a little wooden booth beneath tall trees, so he handed that to her. “We can go wherever you want,” he said, as she took the map. “But I made reservations at twelve for us at the café.”

Allura gave him a dazzling smile. “You did all this for me?”

“It’s not much,” he said, flustered. He’d been with Allura for so long now, and yet when she looked at him like that, he still felt like he was falling for her all over again. “Where do you want to go first?” He asked.

She unfolded the map and shared it between them. The sections of the garden that were flowering were marked on the map in gentle colours and drawn pictures. Everything looked dainty and fresh, just like flowers, he thought. He wasn’t too fussed with where they went or what they looked at, so he was more than content to let Allura choose what they did until their reservation.

“There’s so much to see,” Allura said, sighing wistfully.

“We’re going to be here all day,” Shiro said, laughing quietly. “The flowers will close around sunset, so we have all day to explore, if that’s what you want to do.”

She smiled at him, and folded up the map. “How about we just go wherever the path takes us?” 

He leaned down to accept the kiss she pressed against his lips. “Sounds perfect to me.”


	255. Petals

The botanic garden’s café was one of the prettiest places they’d ever been to, Shiro thought. The building itself was hidden amongst the shade of huge trees and their overhanging branches. White tables were set up both indoors and out, and long, wide windows omitted a cool breeze to the interior rooms. 

Shiro was astounded by the sheer amount of greenery overflowing from every counter and windowsill. Plants hung in little glass jars and various pots from the ceiling, and a plant or two sat on every customer’s tabletop. Some were flowering, others were spreading their vines as far as they could reach, and others still had leaves as long as his forearm. It seemed impossible that everything could be so vibrantly green.

A waiter came to greet them and seat them at their table. They were in the shade of the building but by an open window, where they had quite a pleasing view of the surrounding park. A little ways away from the building was a small pond; its tiny creeks intersected the gardens, marked by arched, wooden bridges where the streams became too wide to pass. Shiro could see the water rippling as leaves from the trees above it fell across its surface.

“This place is so peaceful,” Allura said, sighing contently as she rested her chin in her hands. Sunlight fell in from the window beside her to slant across the shoulder closest to it, creating dappled spots across her dark skin. At some point during the day she’d tied up her hair, but there were petals from a flowering tree they’d stood under caught in her thick locks. Shiro was under no inclination whatsoever to remove them, and instead enjoyed the sweet image of his girlfriend, completely oblivious to their presence.

“We should come here more often, when other flowers are in bloom,” Shiro said.

Allura laughed, and tilted her head to the side, a teasing look in her eyes. “Why Shiro, are you asking me on another date?”

Shiro smiled, coy, caught up in her sparkling eyes and amused smile. “Maybe even two,” he said. Her flush made him feel bold. “Or three, or four, or five…”

“But not six?”

“Of course not, I’d have to ask you to move in with me by then, and then we’d continue to seven and eight and nine, all the way to one hundred.”

Allura laughed again. She looked so beautiful when she laughed like that, as though the sun fell on her only to show off how perfect she was. Shiro was struck by the thought that even the birds could be jealous of a laugh as soothing as hers. Nothing seemed wrong when Allura laughed.

“You’re too much for me, Shiro,” she said, flushed and exhilarated. “You spoil me.”

“This isn’t spoiling,” he said, shaking his head. “I have much more to give.”

“You’re too good for me,” she said again, as she reached for his hand across the table. She pressed his palm open against her cheek, tilting her head into his grip, and smiled a secret little smile to herself that could have thawed even the most frozen of hearts. “How can you possibly love me this much? I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve it.”

“I could think of at least one thousand reasons,” he whispered.

She smiled softly again, and pressed a kiss to his palm before letting his hand go. “I could say the same for you, you know.”


	256. Thinking

Shiro had been thinking, for a while.

It wasn’t anything strange, or anything particularly new to him. He didn’t really overthink things, but he did linger on decisions he’d made or orders he’d given, trying to analyse them for any faults. It was different now that he wasn’t involved with the Garrison, but even so, his mind still continued to race when a room went quiet.

He couldn’t really remember what he had spent all his time thinking about before Allura. Work, maybe, and his accident, definitely. His time in the hospital. Things he’d lost or wanted back. It was so different now. Allura occupied his thoughts more than she didn’t – her laugh, her sweet smile, her gentle hands and open expressions. Not only that, but her less than presentable moments too, when her hair was wild from sleep and she’d drooled on her pillow a little, or when she was sick. There was no part of her he found he couldn’t love, no part of her he turned away from.

He told his mother as such the next time she called. They were organising another get together when the weather was pleasant, for them and for Allura’s half of the immediate family. Shiro also had his Garrison reunion coming up – better late than never, maybe, but still distractingly present. Matt would be there, and Allura would go with him, and that soothed some of his parents’ worries. Even now that he was an adult, they still worried about him like that. It was comforting.

“What’s got you thinking so hard?”

Shiro startled at the question, and glanced up to see Allura standing in the doorway. She was still wearing her pyjamas, and had probably just woken up. Sunday mornings meant she could sleep in for as long as she wanted, and a cursory glance at his watch told Shiro it had just gone ten. “Just thinking,” he told her.

She hummed, eyeing him, and came over to demand a hug. “Nothing too painful, I hope?”

“No.”

“Nothing dangerous?”

“Of course not.”

“Nothing I need to worry about?”

“No,” he said, laughing. “Just thinking, I swear.”

She hummed again. “Alright, I believe you. What’s for breakfast?”

“I made pancakes,” Shiro said.

She raised a brow at him. “Are they burnt?”

“Not all of them!” He said. “I’m getting better at baking, I’ll have you know. I saved you the best ones.”

She laughed, amused, and patted his chest. “I’m just teasing you, love. Even if you can’t bake I’ll still keep you around.”

He snorted. “How could you ever reach the top cupboards if I wasn’t here?” It was a joke, because they both knew Allura was more than capable of reaching all the cupboards in the kitchen, but it still made her laugh in the way he loved. 

Besides, she couldn’t reach all the way into the back of the highest cupboards, so he was still useful for that.


	257. Peaceful

It had been a long week. Shiro spent most of the week’s afternoons fixing up the room they used as a study – putting together the new desk and shelves they’d got, connecting the computer and the internet, that sort of thing. By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, he was completely exhausted, and more than grateful for every chance he got to rest his feet.

Coran had put a movie on after afternoon tea had been served (they had carrot and celery sticks that day, with crackers as well) so half the class was in the recreation room watching it. The other half were doing craft activities with Allura. She’d volunteered to watch them knowing that Shiro didn’t have enough energy to clean up all the inevitable glitter spills.

Shiro was tired enough that afternoon to let the kids convince him to join them on the beanbags. The curtains had been pulled mostly shut but the room was still warmly orange from the sun. He wasn’t really paying attention to the movie, his mind to preoccupy with work, but it was calming to listen to the kids chat.

Lance and Keith were curled up on the beanbag under his right arm. Shiro occupied one half of it, and they the other. They both have their lion toys with them, and while Shiro wasn’t quite sure what they were discussing – their conversation topic changed at least once every few minutes – it was peaceful to see them get along. He was pretty sure they’d discussed their favourite show and their next sleepover at one point, but couldn’t remember what else they’d come up with.

Pidge and Hunk were leaning against his leg, bent over a portable board game. It was a small Battleship game, where they had to guess where each other had stationed their ships on a little board by calling out the corresponding numbers and letters that intersected the location of the ship. Shiro remembered playing it a lot with Matt when he was a kid. The last time he’d looked up, Pidge had been winning, but now he was pretty sure it was Hunk that had the upper hand. Pidge’s concentrated pout was a very obvious tell.

He sighed to himself, very glad that this afternoon was a relatively peaceful one. He could hear the chatter from the kids doing arts and crafts, but the kids watching the movie were quiet, even if they weren’t actually watching it (like his group of four, who only used it as background noise, it seemed). 

He could almost fall asleep like that.


	258. Knee

The kids were playing outside when Pidge tripped over. The ground wasn’t wet anymore – a string of sunny days had everything all dried up and normal again – so there wasn’t any mud to fall in, but he did get quite the graze on his left knee. 

Pidge wasn’t one to cry in front of others often, so he muffled his sniffles until Shiro scooped him up and carried him inside, out of the view of his fellow peers. Pidge didn’t like messing up, not one bit, and this seemed to have him go all quiet.

Shiro set him down on the tabletop while he went to fetch the first aid kit. Pidge’s wound was just a scrape – while working at Altea Kindergarten, he’d cleaned and covered dozens of little scratches just like it. As long as no gravel got stuck in the wound and the kids didn’t pick at it, it should be completely fine.

“This might sting a little, buddy,” Shiro warned, as he held a cotton ball dipped in antiseptic liquid above the wound.

Pidge didn’t reply. He was mostly quiet as Shiro set to cleaning away the dirt and specs of dust from his knees. Shiro made sure to work as fast and as gently as he could, knowing that Pidge was uncomfortable. Once the wound had been cleaned and the Band-Aid supplied, he shut the first aid kit.

“There, good as new,” he said. “How does that feel?”

Pidge kicked his leg out, watching the Band-Aid crinkle as he swung it back and forth. “Okay,” he mumbled.

“You okay, Pidge? Does it still hurt?”

“No, it’s just…” Pidge hesitated, looking upset. “Everyone saw me fall over.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Shiro said, as he put his hands on Pidge’s shoulders. “Keep your chin up. We all trip over sometimes, Pidge. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Pidge shrunk a little. “It’s embarrassing,” he said. “Everyone will laugh at me.”

“No, they won’t,” Shiro said, “and if they do, then I want you to tell me straight away, okay? Being mean isn’t nice. Everyone falls over, and no one wants anyone to laugh at them when they do. I’m sure they’re just worried that you’ve hurt yourself, buddy. That’s all.”

“You think so?” Pidge glanced up. His eyes were wide with concern, and he was clutching at the edge of the table with nervous hands.

“I know so,” Shiro said. “This isn’t the first time I’ve fixed a scraped knee, you know. I have no doubt that your friends are very worried. They’re probably missing you a great deal. What are they going to do without their Green Lion, after all?”

Pidge cracked a small smile.

“Come on now, let’s go back outside,” Shiro said, as he helped Pidge back off the table. “As long as nowhere else hurts, you can get straight back to playing.”

“Nowhere else hurts,” Pidge confirmed.

Shiro ruffled his hair and smiled. “I’m glad.”


	259. Radiant

Shiro was bathing Laika in the bathtub as Allura got ready for a night out. Her and a few old friends were going out for dinner and drinks, no boys allowed. Shiro didn’t mind – he was glad to see her so excited to go out, and he did have the pleasure of seeing her get all dressed up. Currently, she was applying makeup, and curling her hair.

It was kind of hypnotic to watch, actually.

“Shiro, you’re staring,” Allura reminded him, amused. She had an eyeliner pencil carefully perched between her fingers as she traced the shape of her eyes. 

“I’m not,” he said. He was.

“You are.”

“How can you tell? You’re not looking at me.”

She laughed. “I can feel it. Laika will get jealous.”

At the sound of his name, the dog in question let out a quiet huff, wagging his tail. Droplets of water soaked Shiro, who was in the line of fire.

“See? He agrees,” Allura said, smug.

He rolled his eyes and muffled his laughter. Turning his attention back to his dog, he continued to rub shampoo onto Laika’s back. They had this special oatmeal-blend, or something equally organic, that was meant to help bring life back into Laika’s fur. When they’d first got him, he’d been kind of ratty and coarse, but frequent baths and the right diet was slowly changing that. 

A decent amount of love and care, Shiro thought, was also helping.

“I’ll try and be home around midnight,” Allura said, as she set her eyeliner pencil back into her makeup bag. 

“You can stay out as long as you want, Allura,” Shiro said. “You know I don’t mind, just be safe.”

She gave him a small smile over her shoulder. “I know, but I don’t want to be back too late, anyway,” she said. “You’ll probably be asleep and I don’t want to wake you.”

Shiro knew he was going to wake up the moment she unlocked their front door, but he didn’t say it. He would have preferred if she woke him up when she was home anyway, just so he knew she got back safe. “As long as you enjoy yourself, I don’t mind if you wake me up,” he said instead. “Just have fun.”

She laughed quietly, and bent to press a kiss to the top of his head. “I will,” she promised. Her phone buzzed against the bathroom counter, and without her checking it, they both knew her friends had arrived to pick her up. “Make sure to eat dinner and lock the door behind me, alright?”

“I will,” he said. He tilted his head back and kissed her lips before she could straighten. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” Her responding smile was positively radiant.


	260. Melting

As he expected he would, Shiro did wake up the moment Allura unlocked the front door later that night. He’d gotten better with noises waking him in the last few years, and wasn’t immediately swamped by panic. Instead, he fumbled to find his phone, and winced as its screen blinded his eyes.

It had only just gone midnight.

Shiro slipped his phone back onto his bedside table and muffled a smile into his pillow. Allura could have stayed out later, but he was somewhat relieved that she was back. He always slept better with her in the bed – he’d gotten used to her gentle snores and the weight of her dipping the mattress. Her absence was very noticeable, even when he wasn’t conscious. Trying to sleep without her was difficult.

He feigned sleep as she rustled around the house. He could hear her take off her shoes, and then she was in the bathroom, she carefully closed the door most of the way before turning the light on. The sound of the tap being turned on soon followed, and then she brushed her teeth and changed into her pyjamas (Shiro had left them sitting on the edge of the tub for her, after he’d finished bathing Laika and cleaning the subsequent mess).

When Allura finally made her way to bed, he was almost asleep again. He waited until she’d slipped under the covers and made herself comfy before shifting closer. She let out a sweet sigh as she tucked her arm over his waist, the other slipping under his head. Her fingers brushed through his hair. He felt like melting.

“You’re awake, aren’t you?” She whispered.

“Can’t help it,” he muttered back, as he burrowed his face under her chin. He just missed her when he had to fall sleep alone, that’s all. And as much as Laika was a trusted companion, he was nothing like Allura (and he liked to kick in his sleep a great deal more).

Allura sighed again, but she didn’t sound terribly put out. “You silly man,” she said.

A smile crossed his face. “Did you have fun tonight?”

“Lots,” she said, “but how about I tell you all about it in the morning, hmm? You sound sleepy.”

“I am sleepy.”

“Then sleep,” she chuckled. “We have work tomorrow, you know.”

He hummed. Sleep wasn’t so hard to catch with Allura running her fingers over the back of his head like she was, and although he liked to make sure she was asleep before finally nodding off himself, he was out like a light. There was nothing better going to sleep knowing she was going to be there the moment he opened his eyes again.


	261. Nervous

“No, no, that goes in here- Ma, just pass it to me, I can reach- _Ma.”_

“I’ve got it honey, don’t worry,” she said, as she waved Shiro away with a flippant hand. She could hardly reach the top shelves – and was currently by far the shortest person in the house – but she was determined to do what she thought was her equal share of the work.

“You’re my guest, you’re not meant to be doing household chores,” he said, sighing. 

“You don’t do them well enough,” she teased.

Shiro could only roll his eyes. His parents were over for an early dinner that afternoon, and Shiro was cooking. He had his Garrison reunion that evening, and he was unsure if he was going to have much of an appetite. If he didn’t eat, then Allura had said she didn’t want to either, so cooking a light meal for them was a good way to make sure they didn’t go hungry.

Also, it was a great distraction. Shiro still didn’t really want to think about putting his uniform back on just yet.

“Is that almost done?” His mother asked, as she peered into the pan he was absentmindedly stirring. He was only making a simple pasta dish, one that was light and easy on the stomach. Something he knew both his parents and his girlfriend would like, too.

“Almost,” he said. “Is the table set?”

“Yes, I’ve done.”

“Are there drinks out too?”

“Of course.”

Shiro sighed. He loved his mother, but he wished she would learn to relax sometimes, even if it was nice to have the help. “How about you go tell Dad that dinner is ready? I’ll be finished in a moment.”

She gave him a pleasant smile, and rested a gentle hand on his back. “Alright, I’ll be back in a moment.”

Shiro really did love his parents. He knew that they were aware of the garrison reunion, and even if he hadn’t asked them to come over, he had no doubt that they would have shown up anyway. Their support was a little overbearing, but he knew it was good for him, so he didn’t ask them to leave. In some ways, he thought that perhaps they were just as nervous as he was, his mother more so than his father.

Dinner was as pleasant as it could be. Having company really did distract Shiro, and put him at ease. He wasn’t even sure he knew what he was nervous about. The uniform he could understand, but seeing his old friends? There was no reason for that to bother him, and yet it did. He felt a little stupid about the whole thing, actually.

After dinner, when his mother insisted on cleaning up (and thus roped his father into it), Shiro followed Allura into the bathroom to watch her put on her makeup. She really was hypnotic when she did it, and he wanted to avoid his uniform for a little while longer. He wasn’t sure what dress Allura was going to wear, but it was a very formal event, so he knew she was going to look stunning and classy in whatever she wore.

“Are you alright?” She asked him, as she used a fluffy hairband to push her hair away from her face. “You seem a little stressed.”

“I’m not stressed,” he said. “I’m just…”

Allura took a seat on the edge of the tub beside him and took his hand. “It’ll be alright, Shiro,” she said. “I’ll be right there with you, and Matt will be there, and if you want to leave at any time, we can.”

He gave her a weak smile. “I know, I’m just… as soon as I’m there I’ll be fine, probably.”

“Even if you aren’t, it’s okay,” Allura said. She lifted a hand to cradle his cheek, rubbing her thumb under his eye. “No matter what, I want you to be honest with me how you feel. There’s nothing wrong if you feel uncomfortable or nervous. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“Good.” She smiled, and leaned forwards to give him a kiss. He followed after her lips, unable to help himself. She was too addicting, and only her sweet laugh brought him back to his senses. “I’m going to finish getting ready,” she said. “You can stay if you want.”

Shiro matched her smile. He would stay.


	262. Silver

Shiro was shuffled out of the room when Allura decided her makeup was perfect and it was time for her dress. He wasn’t sure which one she was wearing and hadn’t gotten a look at it when she’d draped it over their bed, ready to wear, so he was quite curious.

Without the distraction of his gorgeous girlfriend to entertain him, he went and sought out his parents. His father was in the lounge room spoiling Laika rotten with attention, and his mother was making herself (and everyone else, by the looks of it) tea. Shiro helped her carry the cups into the lounge room when she was done, and took a seat on the one armchair in the room.

“I like this dog,” his father said, as he rubbed Laika’s belly with a tough hand. “He’s a good one.”

A faint smile touched Shiro’s face. “He is,” he agreed. “Did I tell you Allura’s been taking him to therapy dog lessons? He’s one of the quickest learners in his class.”

“What a sweet thing,” his mother sighed, sounding rather dreamy. “Though he looks a bit scruffy. Maybe I should buy him a jacket.”

Shiro laughed quietly. “He doesn’t need a jacket, Ma. His fur is just naturally like that, no matter how often I brush him. It’s his style.”

“He would be more stylish with a jacket.”

“Ma.”

“I’m just saying! What about a blue one? I’ve seen a lot of dogs wearing jackets lately.”

“Maybe in winter, but it’s not that cold anymore. He’s really alright.”

The pointless chatter calmed Shiro down before he could get worked up. He should probably get dressed himself, like Allura was, but he didn’t feel particularly inclined to, yet. His parents didn’t rush him. He appreciated that.

Shiro took a sip of tea, ignoring how it scalded his tongue, as he listened to his parents talk amongst themselves. His gaze moved between the two of them with no real thought or meaning in mind. The more he sunk into the armchair, the more boneless he became. As much as he was an independent person, he really did feel childishly comforted when his parents were around. Nothing seemed impossible when they were there aching to fix things for him (his mother in particular – he was sure she’d already washed up the dishes, even though he’d said she didn’t have to).

The sound of Allura’s heels clicking against the floor made him sit up.

And promptly lose his breath.

She stood in the doorway to the lounge room, one hand clutching the opposite arm in a rather bashful way. Her floor-length dress was silver and vaguely glittery, and clung to every dip and curve in her body. It was strapless, but the collar went right up to her neck. A tasteful, knee-high slit revealed a flash of skin when she walked. She’d curled her hair and pulled it to one side with a single clip the same colour as her dress. 

He was sure he was going to have to pick his jaw up off the floor.

“Is it too much?” Allura asked, her face flush.

 _Not enough,_ Shiro thought. “It’s perfect,” he said. “You look beautiful.”

Allura’s coy little smile sent his heart racing all over again.

“You need to get ready too, Shiro,” she reminded him, when it became clear he was too star struck to function. 

“Right,” he said, as he stood to place his teacup on the table. Any ability he had to be nervous was currently stunned by just how beautiful Allura was. He felt like he’d short-circuited.

Allura followed him into the hallway, and caught his hand. “Just call me if you need me, okay?” 

“Okay,” he whispered. Out of the sight of his parents, he felt free to place his hands on her hips and marvel at her. “You look… really good,” he said, before flushing. He’d never sounded more flustered in his life.

Allura’s little smile returned. “Just really good?”

“Really, really good,” Shiro croaked, his mouth dry. “You’re so beautiful, I can’t believe it. No one’s going to look at me when you’re around.”

Allura laughed quietly, and pressed a kiss against his cheek. Her heels meant she didn’t have to reach far anymore. “Go get dressed, you fool,” she said, smiling. “I’ll be waiting.”


	263. Medal

The uniform was as Shiro remembered. Pristine, crisp lines, rows of neat buttons, space for medals to hang. He didn’t dawdle with pulling it free from its protective covering. Putting the uniform on wasn’t a drawn-out affair, either. He didn’t want to prolong it. 

It felt… strange, to be back in it. The time between pulling the clothing off the hangar and putting it on seemed to have completely disappeared. The uniform had always represented a myriad of things to him, things he’d tried to forget after his accident. He wasn’t so afraid to face those things anymore, but the memories of how he’d once been still made his breath catch. 

He turned to look at himself in the mirror and let out a deep sigh at what he saw. If his prosthetic hand and the scar across his nose weren’t so obvious, he could almost believe that he was how he was before. That he was the other Shiro. The one who sometimes felt more real than imaginary, no matter how distant his memories became.

But now… he felt a little stiff in the uniform. It used to fit him perfectly, or rather, he fit it. That wasn’t exactly the case any longer. He was sure he didn’t hate it, but he didn’t know how to name what he felt when he saw himself in it. 

A soft knock came from the closed bedroom door. “Shiro? Are you doing alright in there?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m fine, Allura,” he said. His voice was surprisingly steady. “I’m just getting dressed.”

“Alright,” she said, sounding unsure. “I’ll be in the lounge room.”

He nodded, but he knew she couldn’t see him. He probably couldn’t get away with staying in the bedroom for much longer. Not knowing his mother, anyway. The thought of her barging in, just like she used to when Shiro was a teen, made him smile a little. As much as he’d moved on from his accident in the last years, he knew she still worried about him when it came to things from the Garrison. Her worry wasn’t entirely unfounded, after all. 

But this time would be different, he hoped. He had Allura.

Shiro returned to the closet to dig out a box from the very back. He knew it was customary for those who had earned medals to wear them to events like the reunion, and he would be no exception to that tradition. The medals that the Garrison awarded were not unlike the ones awarded by the army, navy, and air force, but as the Garrison functioned as a separate facility, they were somewhat different. Shiro had three in total.

The first was a medal awarding aerial achievement, awarded to him for his extraordinary skills in piloting. It sounded like a medal that would be rewarded frequently, but Shiro knew it wasn’t. Not only had he had to successfully complete the highest classes and tests regarding piloting, but he’d had to teach juniors and demonstrate his skills in the field a number of times before being given it. He’d been so proud when his commander had pinned the medal to his uniform.

The second was a commendation medal, awarded to him for his dedication to the Garrison and all its faculties. More than five of the higher ranking commanders had to agree to award a soldier the medal before it could be given, and they rarely agreed on anything. Both Shiro and Matt had been awarded their commendation medals during the same ceremony. Seeing it brought back an unexpected rush of fondness.

The third medal, however, drained that feeling away. It was a medal he’d been given as recompense for his accident. He’d been unconscious when his commander came to present it to him, so his mother had held onto it until he was well enough to receive it. That hadn’t been for a while. Back then, the medal had meant the end of his life to him. It meant he was being discharged, that he was too broken to fly his plane anymore. Damaged goods.

He still didn’t like seeing it, even if it was a medal that only the most honourable soldiers were given. It was meant to inspire feelings of recovery and satisfaction – their efforts and sacrifices were being recognised and acknowledged in the best way the Garrison knew how. It had never felt that way to Shiro.

Nevertheless, he pinned the three medals to his left breast and took another look at himself in the mirror. He felt almost unrecognisable.

With one last sigh, he left the room.


	264. Dashing

Shiro’s uniform shoes sounded twice as loud as usual as he left the bedroom. Wearing the uniform made him stand straighter, hold himself taunt. It was like he was holding his breath for something to come, but he didn’t know what.

Allura was perched on the edge of the armchair he’d previously been sitting in when he entered the lounge room. The conversation between her and his parents paused for a moment. His presence draws her eyes, and she stares. He feels exposed when she looks at him that way, like he’d given her a false Shiro and she wasn’t fooled by him for a second. He didn’t know if it was comforting to have her know him so well, or unsettling to think he no longer fit into the role of a soldier.

His mother stood and came to his side to take his hands in her own. “Oh honey, you look amazing,” she said. “How do you feel?”

He wasn’t sure, so he gave her a strained smile, instead. He knew his parents would be supportive of him no matter what; they’d already proven that dozens of times. Their reactions weren’t what he was worried about. No, he was glad to have his mother’s immediate approval, and his father’s silent but proud looks. It was Allura that made him nervous.

But she didn’t seem… surprised. Or affronted. Most people saw the uniform and felt intimidated – it used to make Shiro feel good, like he was worth something, like all his training was going to use because people could see how hard he’d worked to get where he was. Now it only drew unwanted attention and brought back difficult memories. He didn’t hate the uniform or resent all the things he’d lost, but that didn’t mean he liked it, either.

With his parent’s praises out of the way, Allura was free to approach him. His parents gave them a moment of privacy as they disappeared into the kitchen with all the empty teacups.

“You look so handsome, Shiro,” Allura said, as she took up his hands, too. He could feel her grip against his flesh hand, but nothing against his prosthetic. As if she could sense where his thoughts were straying, Allura lifted a hand to his face, and tilted his chin back up. “Don’t think whatever you’re thinking,” she said. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he whispered. Her touch calmed him; her words were steadying. When Allura was around, he didn’t have the mind power to worry about himself. Instead, he let himself get lost in her, because she was safe, and she loved him. “This uniform is kind of ugly though, right?”

Allura laughed quietly, and patted his chest. “Not at all, I quite like it. It’s dashing.”

“That’s a funny word for it. I’d call it stiff, instead.”

“Dashing,” she insisted. Very carefully, like she was afraid of breaking them, she touched her fingertips to his medals. “I didn’t know you had these.”

“I’d almost forgotten about them,” he admitted, “but I figured I’d get questions if I didn’t show up with them, so I put them on.”

“You’ll have to tell me what they’re for, if you want to,” she said. “They look nice.”

“I’ll tell you on the way,” Shiro said. He shook his sleeve back to glance at his watch and hid a wince. “We have to go or we’ll be late. I’ll see my parents off and then we’ll leave, okay?”

Allura pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before he could turn away. “Okay, but I really meant what I said before. You look handsome. It’s… different, sure, seeing you wear something like this, but I like it. I feel like I know you more.”

He gave her a small smile. “Well, at least one of us likes it.”


	265. Arrive

The drive to the hall where the reunion was taking place took about two hours. It was located on the closest Garrison base, which was a bit out of their area, but neither Shiro nor Allura really minded. He drove because it kept him distracted, and it let Allura fiddle with the radio to her heart’s content.

The venue was subtle from the outside. Most things regarding the Garrison were – party trimmings were always minimal, as were food options and drinks. Most of the time there was gentle music and unobtrusive songs being played as people mingled and chatted amongst one another. Events regarding the Garrison were never lax, but they weren’t difficult to withstand, and never too taxing on the body. Rather, despite the guest’s tendencies to remain stiff-shouldered and rigidly polite, it was an enjoyable experience, and very easy to fit into. For the most part, anyway.

The facility was gated, so Shiro brought along his invitation and his identification to show the guard manning the front. He was struck with the sense that perhaps the guard recognised him, or his name; his identification was barely looked at before the guard saluted him and let him in. Allura raised her brows, obviously curious, but Shiro only gave her a small smile and a shrug. He didn’t know what to say about that, but he was sure it would happen more than once that night.

“You still feeling okay?” Allura asked, after Shiro had parked the car and they’d exited. The lot was brightly lit by several huge lights, but Shiro had chosen a spot a little away from them, where it didn’t feel so obvious that he’d arrived.

“I’m good,” Shiro said. He held out his arm, and she took his elbow. Her skin was chilled from the night air, and not wanting her to be cold, he took her straight inside. It was much warmer once they’d passed through the doors. 

“Where do we go?” Allura asked, as she glanced around, curious. 

Shiro followed her gaze until he saw a guest book, which he gestured at. They wrote their names down before leaving the building’s foyer in favour of finding the hall. It wasn’t hard to find – warm light spilled out through the wide doorways, followed quickly by gentle, live music. Shiro could tell there were already a lot of people inside, and he felt like shying away. 

“Shiro!”

He jumped at the sound of his name, and felt relief break over him as Matt rushed over. He’d been waiting by the doors, but had spotted them before Shiro or Allura had seen him. “Matt, it’s good to see you again,” Shiro said, as Matt drew him in for a quick hug. “You still don’t quite fit that uniform, huh?”

“Just because some of us don’t have shoulders as wide as the equator,” Matt said, rolling his eyes. It was a running joke between them – Matt’s slim shoulders had never quite managed to flatter the uniform, though neither of them particularly cared. Still, it was amusing (especially for Shiro).

“Is your father here yet?” Shiro asked. “You’ve been inside, right?”

“Stop panicking,” Matt said, laughing, “everything will be fine. My Dad’s in there, yeah. He’s talking to Iverson and all those guys. Most of our old squad has already arrived too.”

“Okay,” Shiro said, exhaling deeply. “Okay, that’s fine.”

Matt patted his shoulder and turned to give Allura a wide grin. “My, don’t you look gorgeous! I love your dress.”

Allura laughed, and returned Matt’s embrace. “Thank you, Matt.”

“Oh!” Matt fished his phone out of his pocket. “I promised to get Pidge a photo of you two together, is that okay?”

“Of course,” Allura said, after Shiro nodded. “Come here Shiro, put your arm around me.”

Shiro laughed quietly, feeling tension drain from him. He slipped his arm around Allura’s waist and smiled when Matt pointed his phone at them.

“Perfect!” Matt beamed. “I’ll send it to you two as well, don’t worry. Pidge is going to love it. Shall we go in now?”

Shiro nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be in SMASH Sydney tomorrow and Sunday ^^ These updates have been short because I've been swamped with school work, and tonight I was trying to dye my hair for the first time, but it hasn't worked out well aha ^^" I'll work on longer chapters soon, hopefully!


	266. Familial

The interior of the hall was exactly what Shiro expected. Some things with the Garrison never changed, but he thought that this was perhaps something that didn’t need to be improved. From the entrance way he could see the long tables set out with easy to eat foods and sparkling wine glasses. There was a small live music display in the corner. People dressed in uniforms, classy dresses and tuxedos mingled wherever there was space.

He almost felt like he was returning to a place he had only temporarily left.

“It’s so nice in here,” Allura said, as she tightened her grip on Shiro’s arm to draw his attention. “It’s hard to imagine this is an army base.”

“I know, right?” Matt agreed. “They make it feel less like a facility and more like a nice place. It’s why I bother showing up to these things half the time! Also, free food is always great.”

Shiro snorted. He knew that wasn’t why Matt really attended these things, but Matt was trying to lighten the mood, and it was working. No mood could ever stay tense with Matt around. He’d always been like that even when they were little and still in school. They’d been close friends back then too, when Matt would do most of the talking for Shiro because Shiro was too shy to even speak his name.

Within a few moments they were joined by Mr Holt, who used to be a part of the Garrison, too. He did a lot of tech work and maintenance, and was always invited back to reunions, though he tended to only go to the ones that involved Matt. It was nice to see him outside of the home environment, not for any particular reason other than a change of pace. 

Talking to Mr Holt sort of… eased Shiro into the night. He was a familiar, familial face, and Shiro felt no pressure whatsoever to appear or act a certain way in front of him. He’d known Shiro for a long time, after all. Shiro was more than happy to relax into a conversation between the Holts and himself and Allura, and even though he could tell his old squad mates were starting to notice he was around (at least, if their surprised glances were anything to go by) he wasn’t too bothered by it.

Maybe the reunion would turn out better than he could have hoped for. At least Allura’s sweet smile was a promise for support if he needed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short length of these recent chapters, and for how drawn out the reunion is becoming. I've been too tired to write much lately! Hopefully I can finish up this little section tomorrow ^^


	267. Reunion

When Shiro was younger, still only freshly admitted to the Garrison, his instructor had been a man called Iverson. He was strict and unforgiving of even the smallest mistakes, but his harsh attitude had desensitised Shiro to the ruthlessness of his later years in the Garrison, and in the end Iverson’s strict teachings had given him a lot of sorely-needed experience.

Iverson was the first person to speak to him that evening.

“It’s good to see you again, Mr Shirogane,” Iverson said, as he gave Shiro a strong handshake. He had no fear in being rough with Shiro, not even with his prosthetic arm. Iverson didn’t even flinch at the sight of it.

“You too, Sir,” Shiro said. He drew Allura closer. “This is my partner, Allura. Allura, this is Iverson, my old teacher.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Allura,” Iverson said, as he shook her hand with far less vigour. “I hope Shiro has been treating you well.”

“Of course,” Allura said, smiling her most charming smile, “he’s a real gentleman.”

“Good.” Iverson turned his sharp focus back to Shiro, carefully weighing his words. “Your arm?”

“Better,” he said. There was no use lying to Iverson – he’d always been able to tell a lie, no matter what. And he was still a little frightening. “You still teaching cadets?”

“I sure am,” Iverson said, “and I will be until either they get smart enough to outfly me, or I die. No one’s managed to beat your records yet. A lot of kids have tried. It’s inconvenient to hear so much chatter about the Legendary Shirogane. Makes their expectations too high.”

Shiro laughed. That made him happy to hear, despite the fact that piloting was no longer a part of his life. Even if he was no longer flying or able to teach cadets himself, maybe he could still be some sort of inspiration for them. He liked to think he was still a presence at the Garrison despite not being there physically. 

They were soon joined by Shiro’s flight instructor, the woman who had taught him most of the practical knowledge he knew when it came to the planes he’d flown. She was much friendlier than Iverson, and much more liberal with her compliments towards his heath, as well as Allura’s beauty, something that pleased Shiro more than compliments aimed at himself. 

Soon after, he and Allura were greeted by an endless parade of people. Shiro’s old squad mates came by to greet him and make him promise to see them more often, which he readily did. It would be good to reconnect with his old friends a bit more. His teachers and other instructors that knew him also came over to say hello. One brought him and Allura a glass of wine each, seeing as they hadn’t made it much further in from when Mr Holt greeted them.

A lot of Shiro’s old companions were rather impressed by Allura, he found. He was the end of many jokes about her beauty and his ability to find someone so attractive, which made Shiro secretly a little proud. His girlfriend was gorgeous, and she looked stunning that night – everyone _should_ take notice of her. She seemed a little flustered by all the attention, so he hoped she could understand why everyone was surprised to see her.

She made him happy. After his accident, Shiro doubted many people thought he’d survive, or that he’d be able to get himself to how he was now. Most probably doubted he’d show up, for that matter. He hadn’t shown up to any of the reunions or events he’d been invited to until that night. It was probably obvious that a lot of Shiro’s newfound confidence had to do with Allura. He couldn’t stop smiling at her, and had yet to let go of her hand. She’d gently touch his arm with her hand and all the tension would drain right out of him.

Even if the night was somewhat draining, Shiro enjoyed himself. More than he expected he would, actually. He had more fun seeing old companions and greeting new students of the Garrison that came up to him for advice than he thought he would’ve. He received condolences for the accident and praises for his still-kept records. It was a strange thing to be so well-known by people he’d never met, but it seemed like his reputation preceded him.

He knew that he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the same treatment a few years ago. He was almost relieved that he’d waited so long to attend the reunion, and was especially relieved that he had Allura with him.

“It’s a good thing we ate before we came,” Allura said, when they had a brief moment to themselves. “We’ve hardly progressed into the room! I didn’t know you were so popular.”

“I didn’t know either,” he said, embarrassed. “I think it’s maybe because I cut myself off for so long…”

Allura gave him a small, comforting smile, and leaned up to press a gentle kiss to his lips. “They’re probably thankful to see you again,” she said, as she patted his arm. “You seem to be quite an inspiration to some of these people. Just how much work did you do for the Garrison, anyway?”

He laughed quietly. “I liked to fly.”

“Now I believe,” she said, amused, “that that is an understatement.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMASH ended up being really fun ^q^ It's the first time I've been to a con for the whole weekend, and I think I overspent a little, but it was still really fun ^^ there was a Voltron panel where a whole group of cosplayers acted like the characters and it was really fun! Being around others who love the show really cements my adoration for the characters ❤


	268. Name

“Hey, Shiro?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do people call you ‘Shiro’?”

Allura’s curious question made Shiro laugh. He set down the dishes he was drying and flicked the kettle on. Their mugs were on the drainer, so he set them aside as well. It wasn’t late too late for a cup of tea. “It’s just a nickname that’s always stuck with me,” he said. “Even from school, before the Garrison. I’ve always just asked people to call me Shiro.”

“But it’s short for your last name,” she pointed out. “Most people go by their first name.”

“In Japan, it’s polite to call people by their surname,” Shiro explained. “It’s considered very friendly and companionable to call someone by their given name, or a nickname. English doesn’t have the same system of honorifics that Japanese does, but I grew up hearing my mother speak Japanese, and our family still has a lot of connections with other Japanese families here and in Japan.”

“So you can speak Japanese?”

“Just a little,” he said. “I can understand it better than I can speak it, at least.”

“I didn’t know!” She exclaimed, as she leaned back on the barstool. She’d cooked that night, so Shiro had washed and dried the dishes. The kettle finished boiling, so he set to making them tea while she watched him. “Is it weird when people call you by your given name, then?”

“Not at all,” he said, “it’s just that most people call me ‘Shiro’, and that’s how it’s always been. I don’t mind what people call me, but ‘Shiro’ has always seemed easier to remember. It’s short and simple.”

“Can I call you Takashi?”

Shiro was very glad he had his back to Allura at that moment. Hearing his given name come from her made his face flush. It wasn’t often that he heard his first name, so it felt oddly intimate. “I don’t mind,” he eventually said, “you don’t need to ask.”

“I know,” she said, grinning, “but I thought I would anyway. I like your name.”

“You do?”

She nodded, humming. “It sounds strong. Do you know what it means?”

“I’m not sure what kanji my mother spelt my name with, so I don’t know,” he said, laughing. He passed Allura her cup of tea across the bench. “Meanings in Japanese names can change depending on what character is used to spell it.”

“Oh, I see. I still like it.”

He smiled to himself, and carefully blew on his tea to help cool it. “I don’t mind what you call me,” he told her. “I’ve never really thought about it much before.”

She laughed quietly, shaking her head. “I still learn new things about you every day, Takashi.”

It was hard to hide his next smile behind his tea mug. He could get used to hearing that.


	269. Footsteps

“Shiro?”

“Hmm?”

“What did you want to be when you grew up?”

It was a strange question to ask in the middle of the night. He forced his eyes open, trying to shake off the persistent sleepiness coursing through him to pay proper attention to his girlfriend. “Why are you asking?”

Allura shrugged. She rolled over to face him, propping her face up on her arm. She looked sleepy, but intent on asking the question. “I was just thinking about it,” she said, “thinking about the reunion, too. Everyone who was there are pilots, right?”

“Pretty much,” he said around a yawn. “We’re all trained as pilots, but only a select few actually fly. Most become techs, like Matt, or mechanics, or operators.”

“So you always wanted to be a pilot? Even as a kid?”

“Mhmm.”

Allura pressed a finger against his back and started to draw random shapes over his shirt. It did little to keep him awake – just the opposite, actually. He was going to fall asleep any moment if she continued.

“What did you want to be?” He asked.

She thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know,” she said. “Lots of things. A vet, a nurse, an artist. In the end I followed my mother’s footsteps.”

“Did you want to?”

“Not at first, but the job grew on me.”

“So you like it now?”

She laughed quietly, but nodded. “Yes, I love it now. My mother always told me that I had a knack for getting along with kids. I think she’d be happy that I took over the business for her. My father doesn’t have to worry about it as much anymore. Gives him a break.”

That was true. From what Shiro knew, after Allura’s mother had passed away, Alfor had overseen both his business and Altea Kindergarten. The kindergarten was a very hands-on job that seemed to require the owner to be at the centre often, so Shiro imagined it must have been very difficult on Alfor to control both businesses.

Now that Allura managed Altea, his job must have been significantly easier. While Alfor still technically owned the business, it was Allura who did all the grunt work. If anyone asked him, Shiro was sure Alfor would say that Altea’s success was completely down to Allura (and by extension, Coran).

“Are you sleepy yet?” Shiro asked. “I think I’m going to fall asleep any moment here.”

She laughed quietly again, and shifted closer to curl up against his back. She slipped one of her arms around his waist. “Sorry for waking you, I was just thinking.”

He fumbled for her hand and brought her knuckles to his lips. “Don’t worry about it.”


	270. Sweetness

When it came to desserts, Allura had the biggest sweet tooth Shiro had ever seen. While she always ate unhealthy foods in moderation, she could never resist a sweet treat if the time was right. It didn’t help that she was particularly good at baking – if the mood should strike, then a batch of cookies or a dozen cupcakes were just a simple recipe away.

Shiro himself wasn’t that fond of sweets. He didn’t really have a favourite food, unless hearty, home cooked meals counted. There was nothing better than food straight from the heart. At least, that’s what his mother would always say when Shiro asked for take-out as a kid. Now that he was older and cooking his own meals, he was inclined to agree with her.

So it wasn’t unusual for Shiro to find desserts that had mysteriously appeared in their fridge. Sometimes it was a snack from their local café, or the bakery by the grocery store. Sometimes she’d bring things home from the Kindergarten that she’d made that day, or make things in the evening while Shiro was walking Laika or fixing up something in the house.

That evening, he found a freshly baked plate of cookies on the kitchen top after he finished having his shower. He expected Allura to be in the lounge room or maybe starting on dinner, but instead she was making _more_ cookies, and looking rather engrossed in them for that matter.

“Something special happening?” He asked, as he leaned against the kitchen island.

She jumped at his voice and gave him a sheepish smile over her shoulder. “I just really feel like cookies.”

He eyed the plate, and the batch she was carefully rolling into little portions on a tray. “More than two dozen of them?”

Allura was silent for a moment. “We had a few box mixes stashed away in the cupboard,” she said, turning her eyes elsewhere. “I wanted to use them up so we can get new ones next time we go shopping.”

“And because you felt like cookies,” he said, amused.

She flushed, and didn’t meet his eyes as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yes, that’s right.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry Allura, I’m not complaining.” He leaned forwards to snatch up a cookie before she could stop him. He took a bite as he settled on the other side of the island. “These taste really good, by the way.”

“They’re just out of a box,” she said. “I’m going to stop after this batch, I swear.”

“I don’t mind. Really.” He finished off his cookie and settled on one of the kitchen stools, content to watch her work. The pleasant scent of sweetness and chocolate made him feel drowsy in a very nice way. 

It had been a while since either one of them had indulged in that amount of sugar, so he was sort of looking forward to it, anyway.


	271. Want

He wasn’t sure how it started, what they were doing. Sometimes, things like this just happened with Allura. She was like a storm in summer, arriving without much preamble to sweep up all before her in a warm daze. She was the type of person who was suited to laughing, the type that happiness seemed to find instead of the other way around.

God, he loved her so much.

Even when she made him dance in their living room. He’d helped her push the furniture out of the way to clear a space for them to move. When he thought about it, he hadn’t really realised what she wanted to do until she’d turned the radio on and taken him by the hands.

Allura danced like she spoke – with elegance and a teasing sway in her hips that was not unlike the little smiles she often sent his way. He wasn’t sure what brought this on, what spurred her to spin around the lounge room like she was, but he wasn’t complaining. She was beautiful in everything she did and this little moment of spontaneousness was no exception.

He held her hips and let her take the lead, more than content to play along with her whims. Allura laughed as she urged him to spin under her arm, despite their height difference making him duck his head. He returned the favour, spinning her under his own with much more ease and finesse before resting a hand on the small of her back.

“What brought his on?” He asked, as he watched her face.

She looked flushed and excited, but there was a gentleness in her gaze that he hadn’t always noticed. A small smile crossed across her lips. “Nothing,” she said, as she held his hand tightly and moved him with the music in the background. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said. Those words became easier to say each time they left his mouth. He couldn’t decide what he loved more – hearing them come from Allura or saying them himself. In the end, he thought that both were equally as enjoyable as the other.

“Shiro?”

“Hmm?”

“If I asked you for something,” she said, “would you give it to me?”

“If I could,” he replied. If he could, he would give her the world and more. “What do you want?”

She hesitated as colour came to her cheeks, and paused. He held her close, silent and patient. Then, she said, “I want you.”

Surprise flittered through him. “You already have me.”

“No, not like…” Allura paused again, her fingers curling in his shirt. She coughed to clear her throat. “I mean, I want you to have me. All of me.”

It took him a moment to get what she was asking him for, and the thought of it almost made him dizzy with want. “Are you sure?”

“I trust you,” she said, firm and sure. “I trust you to take care of me, and I want to.”

And who was he to deny her anything she wanted?


	272. Time

“There’s something different about you today,” Coran said.

Shiro flushed, turning his face away from the man’s inquisitive stare. “I had a good night’s rest,” he said. It wasn’t exactly a lie – he had slept marvellously well the previous night. Amongst other things. Other things he didn’t need to be thinking about when at work.

Coran eyed him, humming. “If you say so,” he said.

Shiro had a sneaking suspicion that Coran knew exactly what had happened, and not only was he embarrassed, but he was downright mortified. Coran was like an uncle to Allura, as much a part of the family as a person could possibly be, and Shiro definitely didn’t want to share their… private life with someone so dear to her. Of course, Coran could know nothing and Shiro could just be paranoid, but still. It was embarrassing.

Either way, embarrassed or not, he was happy. He’d been somewhat afraid that taking that physical step in their relationship might ruin what they had, or change them irreversibly, but he didn’t feel that way. He felt closer to Allura – that was to be expected – and it wasn’t just physically, either. In every way possible.

Thinking about her drew his eyes to her. She was across the room hanging wet paintings on the drying rack while the kids rushed past her to put on their hats and apply sunscreen. Shiro and Allura were taking them outside to play while Coran prepared lunch now that their painting activity was over.

“Are you okay?” He asked her, as he made his way to her side to press a gentle hand against the small of her back. 

“Shiro, stop worrying,” she said, as she laughed. Her voice was quiet but happy. “I told you, I expected to be a little sore and I am, and that’s fine. Honestly, it’s not that bad.”

He flushed, but took her word for it. He’d probably asked her if she was alright a least a dozen times that day, and it had yet to go noon. He was just worried, that’s all. He could see her little winces when she bent over too far and how relieved she looked when she got to sit down for a moment. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt her, though as a reasonable adult, he knew in their situation it had been a little difficult to avoid. 

Still, he was concerned that she was uncomfortable, and appreciated being reassured that she was, in fact, quite fine.

“You worry too much,” Allura said, as she touched his face with a gentle hand. “Shiro, if I hadn’t known at least some of what to expect, I wouldn’t have initiated any of that. I should be asking if you’re alright, shouldn’t I?”

That made him laugh. “Alright, alright, I concede. I’ll try to stop worrying,” he promised. “I just… I want more time with you.”

“We’re always together, Shiro,” she laughed, eyes sparkling. “But I know what you mean. How about we go out this weekend? I can take you on a date.”

He smiled. “Sounds perfect to me.”


	273. Tipsy

Their date turned out to be a dinner down at the local pub. It was a classy place with nice meals for decent prices and a warm atmosphere. “I just want to go somewhere nice and easy,” Allura said, when Shiro had raised his brows at her choice.

“I’m not complaining,” he’d assured her. In fact, he rather liked the idea of having a simple date. He didn’t have to dress up and they didn’t have to drive far away. Besides, the relaxed atmosphere at the pub encouraged it’s patrons to feel the same, and Shiro and Allura were no exception to that.

Since Shiro was driving on the way back, he didn’t have anything alcoholic to drink. Allura had tried to insist that she drive so he could enjoy himself, but Shiro had won that argument, much to Allura’s (adorable) chagrin. Besides, he enjoyed himself well enough without alcohol, and there was nothing stopping him from having a glass of wine or a beer when they got home.

Of course, he hadn’t exactly counted on Allura having perhaps one too many drinks while they were out. It wasn’t a week night and they didn’t have anything planned the next day, so that wasn’t a problem. She probably hadn’t eaten enough before having a drink – he knew from prior experience that she couldn’t exactly hold her liquor well when it was anything other than wine.

Besides, she wasn’t that drunk. Just a little tipsy, a little too honest. She could walk and talk just fine, and wasn’t disruptive. She was just cute.

“Shiro, did you know you’re adorable?” Allura demanded, as she held tightly onto his elbow.

He hummed. “So you’ve said,” he told her, amused, as they walked towards the car. The pub was popular so its parking lot had been mostly full by the time arrived. The crisp night air seemed to be cooling Allura’s flushed cheeks, so Shiro wasn’t in a terrible rush to get anywhere soon.

“It’s unfair,” Allura whined. She lifted a hand to run her fingers through the white streak of hair he had. “Even this weird bit is cute. And your _eyelashes.”_

“What about my eyelashes?”

“They’re so thick and dark, like you’re wearing makeup, except you’re not. Unfair.”

Shiro didn’t bother hiding his pleased laughter. “Don’t worry, Allura,” he said, as he patted the hand she had linked around his elbow, “you’re still the cutest out of the two of us. No one can rival your beauty.”

The grin she gave him was blinding. “You flatterer,” she accused. “You’re lucky I love you or else I’d think you want something from me, mister.”

He lifted her hand to his lips. “Only for you to be happy.”

Allura cooed at him, and rested her head against this shoulder. “What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful man?”

“You were just yourself.”


	274. Clean-Up

It was clean-up day at the kindergarten. Coran organised one every few months or so; it was a day where everyone, including the children, were roped into spending the better half of the afternoon cleaning the building and the yard from top to bottom. 

Coran was overseeing the kids working outside. They were putting away toys and cleaning out leaves and debris from the sandpit to make room for clean sand and wiping down all the equipment. Shiro had offered to do the outdoor work but Coran had simply waved him away, happy to do it himself. 

That left Shiro and Allura to divide up the work indoors. They were leaving the office, bathrooms and front foyer for when the children had gone home, but there were still a lot of rooms to clean. Thankfully Coran kept the kitchen spotless so they didn’t have to concern themselves with that, but there was the main hall, the recreation room and the storage rooms to clean.

Shiro and his third of the class members tackled the recreation room. He first moved all the beanbags and the rug into the hallway before setting the kids to organising the stacks of toys and movies in the drawers. A shelf of cubbies was usually used to store all the toys kept in the recreation room specifically, and it was in desperate need of a cleaning.

“You two sort out the drawing things,” Shiro said, as he set the boxes of crayons, pencils and markers in front of Keith and Lance. He’d already given out roles to the rest of kids, leaving just the two of them waiting for their task. He didn’t want to give them anything that would possibly cause distractions, disagreements, or anything of the sort. They were remarkably good at creating chaos around themselves in any given situation, and even if it was almost always harmless and playful, it wouldn’t be good to get distracted when they had an important task on hand.

“Do I put them all in different boxes?” Lance asked, as he upended the trays holding the drawing utensils onto one of the low tables in the room.

“Yes, please,” Shiro said. He retrieved the plastic boxes from the cubby and set them out on the table, one for each type of utensil. The task was simple but would make organising the craft cubbies a lot easier, so it needed to be done. “Don’t get too distracted.”

“We won’t,” Lance promised. His grin wasn’t all that assuring, but Shiro only sighed, and ruffled their hair before moving back to his own tasks.

As Shiro worked, he made sure to keep an eye on the kids. Most of them had sorting tasks; something simple and both easy and satisfying to accomplish. Shiro himself was cleaning surfaces with disinfectant wipes and rearranging the furniture so that the room was more spacious in the centre. The curtains needed to be washed, and remembering that had him thinking that it might be easier to move the television a little further out of the way of the windows so that the light didn’t reflect as strongly against its screen.

Overall, it was quite the eventful afternoon. He had to work around giggling children, something that was just as amusing as it was frustrating. He heard barely concealed whispers about his “robot arm” as he lifted the heavy cabinet with relative ease and could only shake his head. 

He really did love working with kids.


	275. Rules

“Shiro, are there rules when it comes to being a teacher?”

Shiro raised his brows, surprised by the question. His group of kids were seated at one of the craft tables, busy drawing and sticking various crafty materials to their artworks. “Of course,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

Lance hummed thoughtfully. “Well, Ma says there’s lots of rules for being an adult. Is there?”

“There is,” Shiro said, after a pause. “But they’re easy to learn. Are you worried about that?”

Lance grinned at him, wide and innocent. “Nope!”

“Are there rules for everything?” Hunk asked, nervous, as he set down his yellow crayon. “I don’t know if I can remember them all.”

“They’re not really rules,” Shiro rushed to assure him, “but more like nice things to do. For example, if you know the garbage man comes on Mondays, then you put the bins out on Sunday nights. And if you have a dog as a pet, then you know you have to take it to the vet, and walk it.”

“Oh,” Hunk said. “Well, that’s not too bad.”

Shiro almost sighed in relief. He didn’t need the kids thinking adulthood was something to be feared. It would be awful if they started stressing about it now while they were so young. Still, it made him wonder what they’d be like when they were all grown up.

He knew for sure that Pidge was going to develop a brilliant mind. Maybe he’d do something techy like Matt, or work in science, or even engineering. He’d be dedicated and hardworking and probably a little sarcastic, just like his brother. Shiro looked forwards to seeing him achieve all the things he put his mind to.

Thinking of what Hunk would be like only brought forth images of warmth. Whatever Hunk did, he’d be good at it, and he’d try his best. Maybe he might still be a little anxious, but that wouldn’t stop him from succeeding. He’d gravitate towards kind things and make friends with people who truly appreciated him. There was no doubt in Shiro’s mind that Hunk’s sweet nature would bring him happiness in his life and friendships.

Keith was a little harder to imagine. Shiro liked to think he’d come out of his shell and work on being social. He was a smart, intuitive kid, so he’d likely do very well in practical subjects. He would shoot to the top of his class and work on projects with extreme focus, something that perhaps he’d need good friends to pull him out from. Whatever he did, Shiro hoped he’d be happy, and that he’d never feel the need to withdraw or shrink away from the people that loved him.

Lance’s future was easy to imagine. His extroverted nature all but ensured he’d make a group of friends that would rely on him to brighten any situation. He thought quickly and concisely and would be able to solve problems as long as he really put his mind to it. Lance might be a little insecure at times, and perhaps a little quick to judge, but he’d make a dear, lifelong friend to anyone who’d really get to know him.

Thinking of his kids growing up made Shiro sigh. They would be graduating from the kindergarten soon, and he’d miss them terribly. 

But that was a worry for another day.


	276. Late

For the record, he hadn’t actually meant to fall asleep like that, no matter what Allura thought. 

It hadn’t been a particularly tiring week, and yet by the end of it, he was exhausted. He wasn’t sure why he was so tired, but he was sure that he would be sleeping in tomorrow, for once. He had barely been able to keep his eyes open while he ate dinner, and was easily coaxed into ignoring the washing up in favour of relaxing on the couch with Allura.

At some point Allura had turned on a movie and Shiro had curled up on the sofa, his head resting on her thighs. He didn’t quite fit on the couch but some creative positioning had him finding a comfortable position. It helped that Allura was running her fingers through his hair, making him yawn and sigh.

In between one ad on the television and the next, he’d somehow fallen asleep. 

He woke with a start, unsure about what was going on. Allura was leaning against the back of the couch quite comfortably, one hand propping up her chin, the other still in his hair. “What time is it?” He asked, voice scratchy and hoarse. 

“You’ve only been asleep for ten minutes,” Allura said. “It’s not too late.”

He groaned, and painstakingly rolled over on the couch to press his face against her stomach. Her fingers carded through his hair before settling on the back of his head. “Am I making your legs go numb?” He mumbled.

“Not at all,” she assured him. She scratched the back of his head lightly and he felt his eyes droop. “You can sleep again, Shiro. I’ll wake you up a bit later.”

“Okay.” He closed his eyes again, too sleepy to argue. Being woken up to go to bed and sleep again made sense when he didn’t really think about it, and although he knew Allura was indulging him, he was rather comfortable himself. 

Shiro didn’t really dream much, mostly because he didn’t sleep much. More like dozing, actually, but still relaxing. He drifted in and out of consciousness, his eyes blinking open for a few moments before he shifted and drifted away once more. When Allura did wake him up properly, he shuffled off to brush his teeth before collapsing in bed, still thoroughly exhausted. 

Allura came to join him after shutting up the household. “You seem quite sleepy today,” she said, as she tucked the covers over him. “You sure you’re not getting sick, or something?”

“I hope not,” he said around a yawn. “What do we have planned this weekend again?”

“You mean besides a mountain of housework?”

He groaned.

Allura laughed quietly. She slung an arm across his chest. “Well, Laika has another appointment with the trainer on Saturday, so I’m taking him to that. And we have to make that appointment with the plumber to fix the laundry sink if you can’t get it working.”

“I’ll check it tomorrow,” he mumbled.

Allura hummed. “We should probably invite our parents over for dinner again soon,” she mused. “I’ll call my father sometime this weekend, too.”

“Okay.” Shiro yawned again, and tilted his head to rest against hers. “I’m going to sleep now.”

Allura laughed again. “Goodnight, Shiro.”

“Goodnight.”

He was out in moments.


	277. Faring

Shiro wasn’t sick. Definitely not, no matter what Allura thought.

He just wasn’t feeling well. It wasn’t that much of a big deal, really. He just hadn’t gotten enough sleep that week. His stomach wasn’t upset, he didn’t have a fever, and his headache was manageable with medication, so he insisted that she still take Laika to his lesson while Shiro took a crack at fixing their laundry sink. Allura hadn’t wanted too, but he’d convinced her, eventually.

The laundry sink turned out to be fixable after a lot of effort and frowning. Shiro hardly fit under the sink and had to squeeze into uncomfortable positions to fix it, but after an hour or so it was done. At least they wouldn’t have to call a plumber. 

When Allura came home, he was napping on the couch, once again exhausted by one task. Laika found him before Allura did, nosing along the touch until he could wiggle in under Shiro’s arm. It didn’t seem like his trip out of the house had tired him at all. In fact, Laika rather seemed to enjoy it these days. 

Allura took his temperature before they ate lunch, frowned at him, and brought him some sort of herbal tea. He only smiled at her, unwilling to make her worry about him anymore than she was.

Lunch was a quiet affair, made entirely by Allura without much protest from him. He sat on the living room floor running a brush through Laika’s fur, hoping to tame it a little without much luck. Laika seemed happy to have the attention, if nothing else. He had settled in really well at their home, and didn’t seem bothered by things he used to be. Shiro was glad to see him happy.

After lunch, Allura sent him back to bed. He dozed for a few hours but woke up feeling worse, his stomach churning. When he called for Allura, hoarse and weak, she was by his bedside in a moment.

“Are you feeling alright?” She asked, as she sat on the edge of his side of the bed.

“No,” he croaked, “worse. I think I’m sick.”

“I know,” she soothed, rubbing his arm, “just try to get some rest. I’m going to bring you some medicine and a glass of water. Is there anything else you want?”

He shook his head. When she left the room for a moment, Laika snuck in, and curled up on the bed beside him. Balmera was already perched on the foot of the bed, something they didn’t usually allow, but Shiro liked having the cat around. Panther was probably busy exploring outdoors or sleeping in the sun somewhere, so Balmera’s company was welcome. It was reassuring to see the cat and the dog getting along well enough to share a bed.

As promised, Allura returned to coax him into taking more medicine. Once she did, she sat on the bed’s edge and ran her fingers down his back until he fell asleep again.

 

He wasn’t faring much better on Sunday. His mother called around lunch time to speak to him, and seemed worried.

“Ma, I’m fine,” Shiro sniffled into the phone as he refilled his glass of water. “Allura is taking care of me.”

“Maybe you should go see a doctor,” his mother said. “What if you have a bug? They can give you antibiotics, or at least better pain medication. Does your head hurt?”

“A little.”

“Drink plenty of water, Shiro.”

“I am.”

“And make sure to keep your temperature in check. You know you tend to get fevers when your head hurts.”

“I know, Ma. I’ve already taken medicine. My temperature is fine.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry honey, I’m just worried about you.”

“It’s okay,” Shiro said, “I’m fine. I’m not on my own anymore.”

“I know. I’m so glad you have Allura there.”

Despite himself, Shiro smiled a little. “Me too.” It wasn’t the first time he’d been sick around Allura, or even the worst he’d been, but her concern never abated or wavered. 

“Hopefully you’ll be better by tomorrow so you can go to work,” she said.

“I hope so.” He didn’t want to miss work just because he was sick, but there was no way he could go to the kindergarten if he was. He hated the thought of accidentally getting the kids sick. If he wasn’t doing any better by tomorrow morning, he’d have to stay home.


	278. Well

Shiro was still sick. Better than the day before, but certainly not well enough to go to work. Allura was very quick in determining that on Monday morning when she woke before Shiro and not the other way around. She called Coran to inform him that Shiro wouldn’t be coming into work and spent the majority of her morning making sure Shiro would be okay on his own.

He knew she was reluctant to leave, but he was an adult, and he’d taken care of himself before. He’d be fine. He was sure to remind her of that fact every time she gave him a worried, doubtful look. If he was being honest, he wasn’t too ill – it was the tail end of whatever flu he’d caught. A bit of a fever, a bit of a cough, and that persistent headache still plagued him.

“I’m going to leave your phone on the bed,” Allura said, as she unhooked his phone from the charger and set it on her pillow. “Don’t forget it’s here if you get up.”

“I won’t,” Shiro said. He was struggling to stay awake, but wouldn’t sleep until Allura had left for the day. 

“I’ve left a fresh glass of water and painkillers on your bedside table too,” she told him. “They’re the kind that can be taken without food, so when you next wake up, be sure to have a dose.”

“I will.”

Allura hesitated, and sat down beside him. She was dressed and showered, ready to go, but had yet to leave. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright? I hate leaving you when you’re ill.”

He reached for her hand and cradled it. “I’m not too sick, mostly just tired,” he said, as he brought her knuckles to his lips. He couldn’t kiss her properly, not until he was better, so this would have to do. “I just feel bad leaving you and Coran to handle everything today.”

Allura smiled a little. “We’ll be fine. You just focus on getting better, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He watched her leave before rolling over to press his chook against a cool patch of pillow. Laika wandered in after Allura had left and curled up next to him, ears low and whining. Shiro rubbed his head, wanting to put the sweet dog at ease. It didn’t take long before he was fast asleep.

 

As it turned out, the kids at the kindergarten missed him more than the adults did. Shiro was feeling much better and was out of bed by the time Allura arrived home that evening. He was surprised to see her come through the door weighed down by an armful of handmade cards, all for him.

“The kids insisted on making get well soon cards,” Allura said, as she carefully gave him the glittery, feathery bundle of gifts. “They were quite disappointed that you weren’t there today.”

Shiro smiled despite himself. He never wanted to make the kids upset, but knowing that they’d missed him made him happy. “These are all for me?”

Allura nodded. She bent down to kiss his cheek before heading to the kitchen. “Have you fed the animals?”

“Yeah,” he called over his shoulder, distracted. He flipped open the first card and smiled at the message. Most of the cards were filled with cute drawings and sweet well wishes and a lot of glitter. He made a mess of the couch going through them all, but it was nothing he couldn’t clean up later. He just wanted to savour all the little things the kids had drawn for him.

They really were just the sweetest class.

Allura made tea and came to sit with him. She looked through the cards after asking if she could and smiled at the messages. “They look up to you a lot, especially your little group,” she said, as she rested her head against his shoulder. “Keith and Lance looked horrified when they realised you wouldn’t be there today.”

Shiro laughed quietly.

“Are you feeling better now?”

He nodded. “I feel much better. I should be fine to go to work tomorrow.”

She smiled, and pressed another kiss to his cheek. “I’m glad. I hate seeing you ill.”

“Thanks for taking care of me.”

Allura laughed, patting his leg. “Any time.”


	279. Back

When Shiro returned to work the next day – because as he’d predicted, he was feeling much better, and no longer had a fever or a headache – the kids were excited to see him again. Pidge was dropped off first in the morning, and he quickly sought out Shiro, demanding attention. 

“Are you better now?” Pidge asked, as he gripped the hem of Shiro’s shirt with both hands. “Miss Allura said you were sick, Shiro.”

“I was,” he said, nodding, “but I’m better now. Did you miss me?”

“Yes!” Pidge stressed. “You’re not allowed to be sick anymore.”

Shiro laughed quietly, and bent to give Pidge a reassuring hug. “Don’t worry, I’m all better now, buddy.”

He received similar reactions from his other kids, too. Lance followed him around with a worried look, his hand clutching one of Shiro’s until Keith arrived. It was only after Keith had questioned Shiro and made him promise to never be sick without telling them first that the two could be pried away from him. Hunk was a little gentler with his affection for Shiro; he asked if Shiro liked his card (which Shiro reassured him that he absolutely loved) and then Hunk was content to settle in for the day, unbothered.

“Told you they missed you,” Allura said, as Shiro finally made a moment in between greeting the kids. It wasn’t just his little group f four that questioned after his wellbeing and if he’d received their cards, it was a good majority of the class.

Shiro had never felt so welcome anywhere before. It was nice.

“I missed them too,” he said.

Allura smiled faintly. “If only we didn’t have a mountain of paperwork to get through, we could probably let them do something hands-on for a little while longer,” she sighed, wistful.

Shiro groaned, but he was amused. He knew Allura was teasing them. They always had paperwork to do, and he usually got a lot of it done on Mondays, but he hadn’t been at work. That left him a pile to do sometime during the day on Tuesday, which meant Allura would likely supervise the kids in his place while they did crafts or played outside.

“However will I manage?” He complained.

Allura laughed. She probably would have teased him again if they hadn’t been interrupted by Lance and Keith, who were demanding that Shiro come play with them before there was real work to do.

“Duty calls,” Allura said, eyebrows raised.

Shiro only grinned. He let the kids take his hands to lead him back to their group, where everyone was discussing the rules for what seemed like an intense game of hide-and-seek. 

He never would have thought he’d loved coming back to work as much as he did.


	280. Cute

Shiro had a sneaking suspicion that Allura and Matt were trying to get him drunk.

They’d gone out to catch up on the weekend, choosing a local restaurant and bar to have dinner and drinks. Allura was driving home so she couldn’t drink, but Matt and Shiro could. Shiro hadn’t particularly gone out with the intention of drinking more than one, maybe two drinks, but Matt could be persuasive when he offered to buy more.

As such, Shiro was quite sure that he was at least a little bit drunk. It had been a while since he’d felt the warm buzz of a little too much alcohol, and it made him feel lazy and boneless in the best way possible. He didn’t drink heavily and wasn’t completely drunk, but he certainly wasn’t sober. It was the weird in between state, where he was conscious and lucid enough to take care of himself but not in the sense that he could hold his tongue.

“Allura, have I told you that you’re beautiful today?”

“Yes, Shiro,” Allura said, as she tried to hide her amused smile behind the rim of her glass, “only twenty times.”

His heart sunk. “Only twenty? I need to say it more.”

Allura laughed, and leaned over to hold his hand. “Don’t worry, I know you think I’m pretty.”

“So pretty,” he agreed, nodding. “Matt, isn’t Allura pretty?”

Matt nodded in agreement. His cheeks were flushed with alcohol and enjoyment, and it was a good look on him. “You’re funny when you’re drunk,” he said. “Remember that time when you challenged that guy at the Garrison to a race around the field? I can’t believe you won that.”

“I run faster without shoes on that grass,” Shiro whined. “You know that grass is too slippery for boots. Had nothing to grip onto.”

“Well the other guy lost because he fell flat on his face, didn’t he?”

“No,” Shiro frowned, turning his head away, “I was just faster. You believe me right, Allura?”

“Of course.”

Shiro grinned. “See, Matt? This is why Allura is the best. I like her better than you.”

“She’s your girlfriend, I should hope you do.”

“But you’re my best friend, you’re meant to get jealous.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t.”

Shiro snorted. “Knew it.”

“I didn’t know you’d get so happy when you’re tipsy,” Allura said, as she let Shiro lean against her shoulder. They were still sitting at their table in the bar, but it was a crowded place, full of activity and conversation. “Are you having fun?”

“Lots,” Shiro nodded, “but I think I’ve drunk too much.”

“Not at all, don’t worry,” Allura said. “You’re responsible even like this, huh?”

“I know right? Such a stick in the mud,” Matt said, shaking his head. “We’ve never been able to get Shiro to completely let go.”

“I don’t like the taste of alcohol that much,” Shiro complained, “and I don’t like hangovers. I’m not a stick in the mud.”

Allura smiled. “You’re so cute when you pout, Shiro.”

“I’m not pouting.”

“You’re pouting right now.”

“I’m not.”

“At this very instance.”

“Allura,” Shiro whined. “Don’t be mean. Only little kids pout. I should know, I work with them!”

“I do too, love, that’s how I can recognise it.” Allura patted his cheek with a gentle hand. “Don’t worry, it’s cute.”

Shiro huffed. “The kids are cuter,” he declared. “Have you seen Lance pout? It’s not fair.”

Allura laughed again. “That’s true.”

“They’re growing up too fast,” Shiro said. “I don’t want them to grow up. They’re going to leave the kindergarten soon.”

“That’s what happens when they get older, Shiro,” Allura said, amused.

“But what if they forget me?”

“Oh, you silly man.” Allura sighed and drew him closer, her hands cool on his skin from where she’d been holding her glass. “They won’t be forgetting you any time soon, I promise.”

“They better not,” Shiro muttered, “I have a robot arm.”

Matt let out a short bust of laughter. “Robot arm? Since when?”

Shiro held up his prosthetic. “Have you not seen this thing Matt? The kids think I’m part robot. It’s hilarious. Your brother totally convinced them it was a real robot part.”

“You must be the coolest teacher there.”

“No way, Coran is. He’s got a cool moustache.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Allura said, “or he’ll never let you forget it.”

That was true. Coran loved his moustache, even if Allura and Shiro teased him over it. But he was an eccentric man, and eccentric things like his moustache suited him. 

“We all have weird hair, though,” Shiro declared, as the thought suddenly occurred to him. “I mean, Coran has that moustache thing going on, and that’s pretty weird. And my hair is a mess. Look at this stupid white part, I don’t even know why I leave it like that, the rest of my hair is black. It’s weird, right?”

“Totally,” Matt said.

“And Allura’s hair is like… a cloud. At least your weird hair is nice, Allura. But isn’t it strange that we all have weird hair?”

Allura was having a hard time hiding her laughter now. She took a sip from her fruity drink to swallow it down. “If you say so. But I like your hair.”

“Is it cute?”

“Very cute,” she assured him. “I bet the kinds want to dye it pink or something, though.”

Shiro gave her a horrified look.

“I won’t let them, don’t worry!” She grinned. “Pink isn’t your colour anyway. Maybe blue?”

“No, Allura. I’m not dying my white streak. It’s a part of me now. And you said it’s cute so it’s got to stay. It distracts from my scar anyway.” He probably wouldn't have drunk that last drink if he knew how chatty he was going to become. This wasn't like him at all and he knew it, but he was having fun, so it didn't matter. It was relaxing.

“I like your scar too.”

“You do?” He asked, unsure. “Isn’t it ugly?”

“Not at all,” Allura said, shaking her hair. “There’s nothing ugly about you.”

He grinned at her.

“Even when you pout,” she added.

“Allura,” he whined again. She couldn’t just say things like that and not expect him to feel funny. Embarrassed and happy made the strangest combination when he felt them both at once, and he felt like she should know that. He was going to tell her when she suddenly leaned forwards to kiss him, and the words disappeared.

“You’re the one that’s actually pretty,” he mumbled when she’d turned her attention to something Matt was explaining. By the looks of his exaggerated hand motions and vibrant expressions, it was probably something incredibly embarrassing for the both of them. Allura would probably remind them of it in the morning, and Shiro would be mortified, but at least for the time being it was funny.

Did he really pout that much?

Well, as long as Allura thought he was cute, then it didn’t matter. Of course, no one was as cute as Allura herself, but he thought that perhaps he’d said something along those lines far too many times already, so he kept his mouth shut for once. He had a feeling he would be making more of a fool of himself that night anyway. 

At least it was harmless. There was nothing better than excessively complimenting his alluring Allura, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally finished this chapter a couple hundred words short of 200k... so I added them in to reach that number haha. Thanks for sticking with this story for so long ❤


	281. Permission

“Allura?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re really pretty, you know that?”

“I know,” Allura said, hiding her laughter, “you’ve told me before.”

“I have?”

“Yes. Several times. Too many to count, in fact.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“No, carry on,” she said, waving a hand, “but let me get water into you first.”

Shiro smiled, and tried not to think about how dorky he probably looked. He really did have the best girlfriend. They were home now, on the verge of going to bed, but Shiro still felt surprisingly full of energy. Probably because Matt had convinced him to have another drink.

Allura passed him a glass of water across the counter, and he took it as steadily as he could to drink it all. She watched him with a keen eye and took the glass back when he was done, satisfied that he was no longer in danger of dehydrating. “It’s nice to see you let go for once,” she said.

“I let go.”

“Not like this,” she said. “You’re funny when you’re drunk. I bet you were super popular back at the Garrison.”

“Kind of? I think.” Shiro frowned in thought, contemplative. “I guess I just got along with everyone? I was invited to a lot of parties.”

Allura grinned. “Knew it.”

Shiro laughed a little. He was starting to sober up a little now that they were home, showered, and relaxed, but he still felt warm. He enjoyed every part of going out, even the end of the evening, when he got to sit comfortably at home in his pyjamas. 

They spent a little while longer in the kitchen before Allura decided it was time for them to sleep. Shiro didn’t put up too much of a protest, though he did let Allura push him along by the shoulders. She was thoroughly amused by his antics, but he had a feeling that she knew he was sobering up and just teasing her now.

As soon as his head hit the pillows, he was overcome by sleepiness. Allura slipped in beside him after turning the lights off and let him cuddle up against her side. She was laying on her back, so he put his arm around her waist and rested his head against her chest, smiling to herself. The gentle rise and fall of her chest was distracting in the best way possible.

“Comfortable there?” She asked, as she put an arm around his shoulders. Her fingers spread flat against his back, drawing circles on his skin over his sleep shirt.

“Very,” he said. “I’m going to fall asleep if you keep doing that.”

Allura laughed quietly. He could hear the sound in her chest, and it made him smile. She really had the nicest laugh, and he was pretty sure he’d told her that at some point during the night. “As long as you’re not sick in the morning then you can fall asleep like this,” she said.

“Thanks for permission.”

“Any time, my dear.”

Shiro muffled his laughter into Allura’s shirt. He shifted around a little just to get more comfortable before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. He felt like he could have slept forever like that.


	282. Warmer

Spring meant that the nights were becoming warmer. Shiro was the one who finally decided he couldn’t live with the quilts on their bed anymore, so he washed them, and put them away for good in the hallway cupboard, despite Allura’s protesting.

“I like the weight of them,” she said, as she followed him down the hallway with a pout.

“And I’d like to wake up not sweating, for once,” he said, laughing. He stuffed the quilts away before rounding on her, taking her into his arms before she could protest. “You can always try and get them back, if you want.”

“Don’t you raise your brows at me, mister,” she snorted, amused. “I could totally take you on.”

He leaned a shoulder against the wall, dragging her with him, and gave her a teasing look. “Go ahead, if you really want the quilts. They’re yours for the taking.”

Allura made a show of struggling against the cage of his arms before huffing. “It’s not a fair match when your biceps are the size of tree trunks.”

“I technically only have one and a half biceps though.”

Allura gave him a look.

He grinned, cheeky.

“Why do I love you?” She sighed. She slipped her arms under his so she could put her hands on his hips. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“Am I, now?”

“Definitely,” she nodded. Her hands squeezed his hips, holding him in place as she leaned up to kiss his lips. “If I can’t have my quilts, then you’re just going to have to hug me more.”

“I’m sure I can manage that,” he laughed.

The warmer weather seemed to do wonders for Laika, too. He loved to run around the yard and the sunshine made the grass warm and soft to sleep on. Taking him for longer walks was easier, too, now that the afternoon sun stuck around for a little while longer each evening. Allura joined him more often as the chill of night disappeared.

It became a sort of routine, after a while. They’d have dinner and then take Laika out for a walk together before the sun set. Laika seemed to enjoy the extra attention, and he became used to the routine, so much so that he’d impatiently sit by the door while they washed the dishes. Shiro thought it was funny – he even took a video of Laika whining at them from the front door that he sent to his parents. 

Shiro was kind of glad the weather was warming up. The cold made his shoulder ache and he’d always preferred summer to winter, anyway. They’d have to take Laika to a dog-friendly beach for a swim. Maybe the kindergarten could go on an excursion to a beach, too. He was sure the kids would love it.

And besides, it was nice to see Allura wear dresses more often. Don’t get him wrong, his girlfriend was beautiful in anything she wore, whether it was a dress or her pyjamas or a thick winter coat. But he knew she liked dresses the most, so he was happy to see her back in her element. 

She was the most beautiful when she was happy, and he was sure to let her know that.


	283. Confidence

“Alright, Panther, it’s time to come inside.”

The cat looked up at him, tail swishing. He didn’t move, didn’t even flinch at the sound of Shiro’s voice. He’d been sitting on the porch and had been for the last half an hour, despite the fact that a storm was coming. 

There was no way Shiro was letting him stay outside again, though. Last time that had happened Panther had slunk back inside when they’d opened the doors, dripping wet and shivering. He looked miserable, but not miserable enough to listen to Shiro this time, it seemed.

“Inside,” he said again, as he held the door open wider. “Come on. Do you want to get rained on again? I’m not going to dry you off this time.”

Panther didn’t even twitch.

Shiro huffed, and glanced over at his shoulder to where Allura was watching him from the kitchen bench, looking incredibly smug. “Your cat is stubborn,” he accused, “you fix this mess. He won’t listen to me.”

“He’s his own cat,” she said, waving a hand. “If he gets wet, he gets wet. Don’t worry too much Shiro, he’s always been wild.”

Shiro frowned and turned back to face Panther, who was still sitting just outside the door. Any time Shiro had gone to pick him up he’d darted off like he knew what Shiro wanted to do. Honestly, Panther had to be one of the most confusing cats Shiro had ever met. Was it really so bad to be inside? Surely Panther could put up with Laika for a few hours.

“Okay, fine,” Shiro said, as he turned his back on the cat. “You can sit outside then. Get all wet. Rained on. Have fun, Panther.”

Just as he was about to shut the door completely, the cat slipped inside, tail raised indignantly as he pushed against Shiro’s leg. 

Shiro grinned. “There, now don’t you feel better?”

Allura laughed, looking incredibly amused as she crossed her arms and rested her chin on them. “Look at that, he listened to you.”

“Hardly,” Shiro snorted, “he thinks it was all his idea. Look at that smug face.”

Allura only laughed again. 

Shiro fed the cats and Laika before joining Allura on the couch, thoroughly exhausted. “It’s much easier negotiating with the dog,” he groaned.

Allura rubbed his arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry, you’re still the top dog around here,” she teased.

“I think that role belongs to you.”

“You’re right.”

Shiro laughed. That was a quick agreement. They both knew they were equals when it came to the household… unless Panther was involved. That cat certainly had a sense of confidence to him. Shiro had no idea where he got it from. Not even Balmera had confidence like Panther. 

“Come on, leave the cat be,” Allura said, as she led him back into the lounge room. She flicked through channels until she found a decent movie playing before learning back against the couch, tucked against his side. “Do you think it’ll rain much tonight?”

“Probably,” he said. Enough for him to chase Panther around the yard trying to get him inside, anyway. The warmer weather was bringing a lot of rain, but Shiro didn’t mind. It was mostly in the evening after Laika’s walks, and their garden was starting to become much greener now.

“I like storms,” Allura said, “they’re nice to listen to.”

He nodded in agreement. He’d gotten used to the clap of thunder in the last few years and now he found that the rain helped him sleep easier. 

Though perhaps Allura had something to do with that these days.


	284. Soon

The thing about updating calendars with important dates and things to remember was that they reminded Shiro of the time.

Which, come to think of it, was exactly what they were meant to do, but that was beside the point. He wouldn’t call himself a forgetful person, but ever since Allura introduced him to her calendar-of-important-things (the one they had propped up in their kitchen) he’d become accustomed to using it to remind himself of things not to forget. When he flicked back through the months, he saw the Garrison reunion, and Laika’s first training session, and dinners with his parents. 

How long had they been together now? When he counted back the months, he was surprised to realise it was almost two years. How could the time they’d spent together have been so short? Sure, they’d known each other for more than that length of time, but they’d been together for almost two full years now.

Absentmindedly, he flipped through the calendar, smiling to himself. He felt like they’d celebrated everything together. Birthdays – both of theirs – anniversaries, owning a house, welcoming pets into the family… and that’s what they were, right?

A family.

He wanted to make it official.

They’d talked about it before – marriage. Just a little. Shiro didn’t think it was something they should rush into, let alone something he should spring on her. It was a big step in life, one that effected every aspect of them as people. Shiro had never envisioned himself being married, but now that he was older, it was something he definitely wanted with Allura.

“I do want to get married,” she’d told him, when the conversation had been brought up. She was actually the one who asked him, which Shiro appreciated. She’d been just as nervous about him about it, but he felt like if he asked, it would put more pressure on her. He hadn’t wanted to seem too pushy. After he’d told her what he felt about marriage, she’d given him the same courtesy. “It’s definitely something I’m considering.”

“And if I asked you to marry me?” Shiro had questioned. They’d been lying in bed when the conversation came up, and somehow the darkness of the room felt like a safety blanket. “What would you say?”

“Well you’ll just have to ask me,” she’d teased. 

He knew it had been permission for him to propose. That conversation had been three or four months ago now, and he only remembered it every now and then. He did want to propose, but thinking about it filled him with a nervous, restless energy. She probably wouldn’t say no, but he wanted it to be a memorable, perfect moment. Something worthy of Allura. 

And he knew it was kind of archaic, but he wanted to make sure Alfor and Coran approved. Not because Allura was something to be given away, like a possession, but because their approval would mean a lot to _him._ They were the two people who cared about Allura the most, were the two people _she_ cared about the most, so he wanted to make sure they thought he was the perfect person for her, too.

He didn’t think they’d say no either, but he was still nervous.

Maybe he could ask her to marry him on their anniversary. He wondered if two years was long enough, if others would think they were rushing, but deep down he knew that Allura was the one for him. No one else had ever made him want to marry, had ever made him feel like Allura did. He thought that her charms would wear off, that maybe he’d get used to her, but he hadn’t.

She was still as beautiful and as charming and as sweet as she was when he first met her. 

Still smiling, he shook away the thoughts, and continued his task. The calendar wouldn’t update itself. There were some things he wouldn’t write down, though.

Like ring hunting.


	285. Busy

Shiro told his mother about his plan to propose before he told anyone else. He’d hardly thought about getting his parent’s permission to marry Allura mostly because he knew they already loved her. He didn’t need their approval regarding his choice of lover: there was no doubt in his mind that he already had it.

Still, the conversation with his mother had been interesting. And loud. Very loud. 

To say she was excited was a severe understatement. Shiro doubted that anyone in the entire world would ever be able to match his mother’s enthusiasm, and that thought proved no less true when he told her he wanted to propose to Allura. Of course, reigning in his mother’s enthusiasm was difficult – she wanted to help him pick a ring and had endless advice speeches read to give and very likely had a time, place and menu picked out for their engagement party.

“I have to ask her first,” Shiro had reminded her, amused.

“Oh, right,” she’d said, as if she truly hadn’t realised.

Telling his father was much easier. His father was a simple, honest man, and he wasn’t hesitant to tell Shiro exactly what he thought.

“She’s a beautiful girl, and I’m glad she loves you,” he’d said, when Shiro had told him his plans. “Make sure you make the moment perfect for her.”

Somehow, his father’s endless approval had felt more special than his mother’s endless enthusiasm. Don’t get him wrong, he loved both his parents equally, but there was just something about getting his dad’s approval that made everything feel real. Shiro had always looked up to his father in the same way most sons did, and in the last few years their bond had gotten stronger. It had taken Shiro a long time after his accident to realise his father didn’t view him as any less of a man, not in the same way Shiro viewed himself.

As much as Shiro wanted to rush the question (knowing that thinking about it for so long made him anxious) he was going to take his time. He had to think of the right things to say, the right place to take Allura, the right time to ask… he had a lot of thinking to do, it seemed.

But he didn’t mind.

Work was busy at the moment, too. The graduation had to be planned in advance – it wasn’t anything grand, but they did have to book a photographer, so that was something to worry about. The planning had to be done with the three workers currently at Altea as well as Alfor, so they waited for him to return to the city on his next break before really getting stuck into it.

Having Alfor’s return scheduled sort of set things into motion for Shiro. He’d have to ask Alfor – and Coran, for that matter – about marrying Allura when she wasn’t around to hear or get suspicious. Any time he thought about it he felt like she could read his mind, and he didn’t want her to think he was going to ask. Even though they’d talked about it, it should still be a surprise for her, he thought. He just really wanted to give her a moment she could be very happy with.

One he’d be happy with, too.

It was going to be a busy few months ahead.


	286. Fan

Shiro was in charge of supervising the kids during an arts and crafts session one afternoon. It had been a warm day, so the doors were open, and a humid breeze was wafting through the building. He was rather enjoying watching the kids make things – the warmer weather led to an increase in the creation of paper fans, something that was an interesting as it was messy.

“Here, you can use these,” Lance said, as he riffled through a bag to produce a handful of red feathers that he gave to Keith. “These are fine, right?”

“Yeah.” Keith took the feathers and set to carefully gluing them on the edge of the paper he’d folded. “This fan is going to be a good one.”

Lance nodded in agreement, though he wasn’t looking at Keith. He was painting his own fan in a variety of different colours, though blue was the strongest featuring colour of them all. He had his own pile of blue feathers get aside for when he was done painting. It didn’t look like he had quite as much as Keith though, so Shiro went to fetch a new packet of craft feathers that he gave to their table.

“Make sure not to get them everywhere,” Shiro reminded the kids, as he carefully moved a jar of glitter away from the table’s edge. “You don’t want to spend too long cleaning up, do you?”

“No way,” Lance said, affronted. He shuffled through the new feathers to pick out the blue ones he wanted before giving the packet back to Shiro. “How is my painting, Shiro?”

“It looks fantastic,” Shiro said. He had no idea what it was meant to be, but it looked colourful and vibrant. “Are you going to glue feathers onto it like Keith is?”

“Yeah!” Lance grinned. He had such a charming smile, one full of teeth with a sweet little dimple on one side. “They’re going to cool us down. It’s too hot outside.”

Shiro laughed quietly. It wasn’t too hot, not just yet, but it was certainly heating up now that spring was in full swing. “Do you want me to get you a cup of water?” He asked.

Lance nodded. “Yes please.”

“Alright.” 

Shiro spent some time handing out cups of chilled water to the class as everyone peacefully continued crafting. Keith and Lance’s fans turned out quite nicely, even if they sprinkled glitter everywhere when fanned. Hunk and Pidge were far more interested in drawing (or painting schematics; it was hard to tell the difference sometimes) but their projects were no less interesting.

Shiro would miss the kids when they weren’t here. Of course, he was so proud of how they were growing up – how he could not be? The kids were smart and kind and compassionate, and they were going to do so well in school. That was something Shiro had no doubt about. But he would miss them. 

He had more than enough memories to suffice for him, though.


	287. Gardens

Shiro was bathing Laika, and as he did, he couldn’t help but _think._

There were a lot of things on his mind lately. The kids, for one – their graduation, specifically. Every day spent with them drew him one day closer to saying goodbye, and as much as he told himself to be proud and be happy, a selfish little part of his heart wanted more time with them. He felt like he’d only seen small snapshots of their lives, and knowing that he was going to miss out on all the exciting things they did and learned made his heart twist bitterly. 

Had he made enough of an impression on them to be unforgettable? 

He hardly remembered his own teachers, even the ones from high school. He’d been very close with quite a few of his teachers back then, but now he struggled to recall what their voices sounded like, or what important things they’d told him at his own graduation. Trying to remember all the way back to preschool was completely impossible. 

Even if he was forgotten by them, he thought, at least he would remember. Was he going to feel this way at every graduation? Would it get easier, or would he grow less attached to kids that weren’t his current group? Thinking _that_ only made him feel miserable. He didn’t ever want to favour one child over another, but he did. Four children over the others, actually. 

At least he had Allura to help him work through his thoughts regarding that matter. He wasn’t sure how she’d figured out exactly what he was feeling, but she had. She had this weird way of knowing exactly what was going on in his head just by watching him for a bit. It was both uncanny and impressive at the same time. 

Either way, she had a talent for words, and a good way of explaining things. “We all feel that way – Coran, my father, me,” she told him, “but it gets easier. Some kids we grow more attached to than others, that’s just how it is. Doesn’t mean the others are disadvantaged, or that they deserve or receive our attention any less. But there’s always going to be some we’re more connected to.”

She sounded like she spoke from experience, but he didn’t ask her about it. She’d been working at Altea Kindergarten for a lot longer than him, and had successfully seen many classes graduate. Sometimes he wished he had her composure. Her heart didn’t seem to crumble like his did, didn’t seem to shy away.

No, her love for her job and her children only grew. Maybe when she was new, long before Shiro, her heart had crumbled like his. But whatever had regrown was stronger, filled with endless room for excitement and pride. It would take some time, but he was sure he’d become like her. That he’d be able to exchange sullenness for pride without a second thought. 

Still, it didn’t make him feel any less disappointed that his time with the kids was drawing to a close.

But that wasn’t the only problem circulating his head of late. Allura herself was one – well, she wasn’t exactly a problem. The opposite, really. Whatever the opposite of a problem was. 

It was just… he loved her so much. Her charms never wore off. The flutters he got around her never lessened. Her smiles continued to outshine the sun. If laughter could grow flowers, then her voice would sprout entire gardens in him. 

He hadn’t asked Coran and Alfor about marrying her yet. He would soon, though. He was trying to pace himself, trying not to rush and stumble. Trying to figure out exactly what he wanted, exactly what _she_ wanted, without asking. Of course the perfect idea came to him when he was scrubbing mud from his dog’s paws.

The apple orchard. 

It was where he’d taken her on a date all those months ago, where some of his favourite memories with her had occurred. Going there would be perfect, wouldn’t it? The weather was getting nicer, and the apples they’d brought home from the orchard were deliciously sweet. He knew the venue had more to offer than just the orchard and the restaurant, and exploring it was bound to be fun. 

Thinking of a place to propose was a start, one that he was quite happy with.

Who knew dog washing could be so inspiring?


	288. Simple

Finding a ring proved to be difficult. Maybe Shiro was being fussy, but that wasn’t the point. Even if he didn’t have anything incredibly specific in mind he knew exactly what he wanted, and there was a stubborn little part of him that wouldn’t accept anything less. Not for this.

Allura’s ring had to be perfect. He knew she didn’t like wearing heavy or overloaded jewellery, so it couldn’t be packed full of precious gems. She typically wore rings with medium width bands; he didn’t think she liked thick or thin ones, just something average. Probably something coloured gold, or even platinum. Or would that work better for a wedding band? He wasn’t quite sure, and it’s not like he could outright ask her what she wanted. He still wanted the engagement to be a surprise.

He wanted something that suited her. Dainty, easy to wear, memorable. Something that sparkled without blinding, that sat neatly on her finger without causing any problems for the more hands-on aspects of their jobs. Something that made her smile. Something she wanted to show off to her friends and wear proudly.

Maybe he wanted her to be a little proud of him, too.

It was a lot to think about, to say the least. He still put a lot of effort into work and his home life, but Allura was a perceptive woman, and she caught on that he was up to something. She respected his decision to keep it a secret of course, but he could tell she was curious and a little bit worried. She didn’t say anything for a while, until she brought it up one evening while they laid together in bed, winding down from the last moments of the day.

“I haven’t done anything wrong, have I?” She asked, as she traced nonsensical patterns up and down his normal arm. Her fingertips were light and teasing, but there was a softness in her voice that rung with nothing but honesty. She was serious about her question.

“No, you could never,” he said. The lights were off but whatever was coming in through the window was just enough to illuminate her face and her cloud of silver hair. “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, that’s all. It’s nothing to worry about. Really.”

She didn’t seem completely convinced, but she wouldn’t push him. That was something he knew for certain. “Want to talk about it?”

Her concern made Shiro feel warm. Never in his life had he ever imagined he’d have someone who cared about him as much as Allura did, who was willing to show him how much they loved him like she did. She made him feel confident in their relationship. He wanted to marry her more and more with every passing moment they spent together. The question tingled in his mouth, four simple words with so much weight that sat perched on the tip of his tongue.

But he couldn’t ask them, not just yet.

Instead he curled his fingers around hers and drew her hand to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles. She had gorgeous hands. “I’m alright, really,” he promised her. And he was. Even if he was nervous and pedantic and fussy about it all, he enjoyed it. The secrecy of knowing he was going to propose gave him a thrill and the comfort of knowing he was putting his all into making it perfect for Allura eased his mind.

“If you’re sure,” she sighed, as she rolled onto her side to face him. He slipped his arm around her waist and held her close, delighting in the simple intimacy of it all. To think he’d be able to love someone and hold someone like he did with Allura however he wanted, that she’d let him cuddle her and curl up behind her back or across her chest if he wanted… it really did leave him awestruck. 

There was nothing about Allura that he didn’t love with all of his heart.


	289. Looking

“I want to marry Allura.”

In the end, Shiro hadn’t been able to think of any other way to say it. There was nothing wrong with straight-up honestly, was there? Saying the words made this strange sense of relief wash over him, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He liked the taste of the words when they left his tongue, too. 

He wasn’t sure if it was comforting or strange that Coran seemed entirely unsurprised by the statement. 

“Well, anyone with two eyes can see that, Shiro,” Coran said, amused. 

Shiro had finally managed to corner him at work when Allura wasn’t around. There had been a small problem with their latest food order, so she’d driven to the store to stock up for the day while the order was being fixed. She’d be gone for an hour, maybe two, so Shiro took advantage of the opportunity to talk to Coran. For now, the kids were eating snacks, and both adults were tucked away in the kitchen, away from prying and curious ears.

“No, I mean-” Shiro paused, flustered, and tried to gather the right words in his mind and the courage to say them. “I want to propose to her.”

It clicked in Coran’s mind when he said that. He had a very expressive face, and the surprised look he wore spoke a thousand words. “Oh! Well that’s a different matter altogether.”

Shiro flushed.

“Have you spoken to Allura about it?” Coran asked.

“Yeah, a while ago,” Shiro said. “But she doesn’t know I want to ask. I just… I just wanted to know that you and Alfor approve first. And I know that that’s a little… old-fashioned, but you and Alfor are the most important people to her, and to me, too.”

Coran gave him a cheerful smile. “Of course I approve, Shiro,” Coran said. He put a comforting hand on Shiro’s arm. “And I’m sure Alfor will. You don’t need to ask either one of us to know that.”

“I just wanted to make sure,” Shiro said, as he exhaled deeply. His nerves were slowly settling, at least for the moment. “Allura means a lot to me and I really want to make her happy.”

“You already do,” Coran assured him. “Have you got a plan of attack?”

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, sort of. I know where I want to ask her and what I want to say, but I haven’t found the perfect ring for her yet. She deserves the best, you know? And I want to give her something she’ll really love. That she’ll want to wear.”

“You could give her anything and she’d love it,” Coran said. “But if you’re really stuck…”

Shiro raised a brow.

Coran grinned. “I think I know exactly what you’re looking for.”


	290. Ring

Shiro would have like to think he and Alfor were friends now. They got along well and Shiro wasn’t often intimidated by Alfor’s presence, not like he was when they first met. He liked Alfor. He was mostly sure that Alfor liked him, too. 

But this situation sort of made him… nervous.

It wasn’t like he really had anything to be nervous about. Like Coran said, he and Alfor would undoubtedly approve of a marriage between Shiro and Allura, but that still didn’t make approaching the subject any easier. Now that Alfor was in town, however, it was the perfect opportunity to ask him about the whole thing. And Coran had told him to. Insisted, really.

He met with Alfor in his home office. It was a bit of a drive, and thinking of an excuse as to why he was going without Allura was challenging. Thankfully Coran was an expert at distracting Allura, and while Shiro had no clue what they were doing (he didn’t want to know) it gave him time to see Alfor. His excuse involved Laika, so thankfully he got to take his dog with him. It was a nice comfort to have Laika around.

While Shiro spoke with Alfor, Laika roamed around the backyard. The house Alfor lived in while he was in town was a quaint little home in a quiet suburb. Shiro knew that this was where Allura spent a lot of her late teenaged years. He was somehow comforted by the thought of a young Allura roaming around the house.

Bringing up the topic of marriage was flustering. They sat in Alfor’s office, where bookshelves were stuffed full and wide, open windows let in copious amounts of light. Shiro came out with his plans in the same way he had with Coran, though with a significant more deal of embarrassment.

But Alfor didn’t seem to mind. “I was wondering if you were going to ask,” he said, as a gentle smile twitched at his lips. “I’ve been wondering for a while.”

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. “I just wanted to make sure that you and Coran think this is- think _I’m_ what’s best for Allura. I know she can make her own decisions, but you and Coran are the most important people in the world to her.”

“You’ve asked Coran as well?”

“Yeah. I asked him the other week.”

Alfor smiled. “That’s very considerate.”

“He’s family.”

The answer only seemed to make Alfor more pleased. “Have you got a ring yet?”

Shiro shook his head. “No, not yet. I haven’t been able to find something perfect yet. I want something she’s really going to like, you know? Coran said I should ask you.” Shiro didn’t need to add that Coran _insisted,_ actually, because Alfor seemed to know exactly what he was talking about.

“Ah.” Alfor turned to rifle through one of the drawers in his desk. “Well, I know what Coran was talking about, but I wasn’t going to bring it up unless you asked. I suppose this counts.”

He pulled free a small box from the drawer and carefully placed it on top of the desk. When Alfor gestured for Shiro to take it, he did. Nestled inside was a beautiful, golden ring. It was dainty and elegant and had a modest gem nestled in the centre. It wasn’t like anything Shiro had seen – it was something older, something classical. Something meaningful. 

“Is this…?”

Alfor nodded. “It was the ring I have Allura’s mother on our wedding day. She… didn’t want to be buried with it. She wanted Allura to have it when the time was right, but it’s never been that time. Until now.”

Shiro felt oddly choked up. “I can give it to her?”

“If you don’t mind,” Alfor said. He took the box back and held it with careful, reverent hands. There was a wistful, forlorn look in his eyes, but Shiro couldn’t help but think there was something timelessly fond about the way Alfor gazed at the ring. “I don’t want you to think that this is something Allura should have just because it belonged to her mother. It matches my own wedding band, so I don’t think it would suit her for her own wedding ring. She should have something that connects her to the person she’s marrying. At least, that’s what I think.”

Shiro could only nod. He didn’t know what to say.

“But perhaps it’s suitable for an engagement ring…?” Alfor continued. He set the ring back down in front of Shiro. “Either way, it’s up to you. I think you know that I believe you’re the right man for my daughter, Shiro. If she loves you enough that you know she’ll say yes, then I have no problems at all with you asking her to marry you. I trust her judgement, and more than that, I trust that you’ll care for her. I’ve never seen anyone treat Allura like you do.”

Shiro picked up the ring box. He’d never met Allura’s mother, but something about seeing this ring, seeing something she loved so much, made him feel like he knew her. There was a tangled up, worried part in him that was slowly unravelling, falling open with a feeling he could only describe as love.

“This is perfect,” he said.


	291. Resist

Having the ring made Shiro feel a lot more ease about the whole situation. He hid it in the pocket of one of his winter coats hanging up in the back of the closet. The weather was way too warm for coats now, and the garment had already been washed and stored away, so it was the perfect place to keep the ring. Allura had no reason to go digging through their winter gear. He was kind of proud of himself for thinking of putting it there, actually.

If he hadn’t thought of that place he was going to try and hide it in his sock drawer which, in hindsight, wasn’t the best idea. Especially not because he and Allura had the same drawer for their socks. After getting the ring, the panic of hiding it somewhere Allura would never find it had left him a little flustered, but the coat was a good idea. After that, things became easier.

Even if Allura still seemed a little suspicious of him. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but it soon became clear that she thought he was upset over something. Maybe she thought it was nightmares or bad memories, or something equally unfavourable. Whatever it was, it made her gentler than usual. She’d bring him tea without asking and offer to do the dishes even though she’d cooked and other little gestures he only noticed because they started to occur in excess. 

At least there wasn’t long to go before their anniversary arrived. Shiro had already made the booking at the apple orchard, unbeknownst to Allura, so all he had left to do was make sure he didn’t chicken out. It helped to have Alfor and Coran’s approval. His parent’s approval, too.

Still, despite his reassurances that everything was fine, Allura continued to worry in her own, subtle way. It was a bit amusing, sometimes.

“See, he’s pouting,” Allura whispered to Laika, as she crouched beside the dog. “Your job is to make him happy.”

Shiro raised his brows. He was sitting cross-legged on the window chair in the lounge room, tea in hand, a book in the other. Allura was across the room, one arm slung around Laika’s chest to keep him still while she spoke. Laika was wagging his tail, happy to have the attention. 

“You remember the plan?” Allura continued, looking far too pleased with herself. “Just like in training, Laika. Find the distressed human and sooth them. Look, your target isn’t even moving. It’s gonna be easy. Ready?”

Laika’s attention was on Shiro now that Allura had made such a big fuss of pointing him out. He shifted on his feet, looking ready to pounce. Only Allura held him back.

“Is this really necessary?” Shiro asked, as he held back laughter. “I can hear you from here, you know.”

“Ready, Laika?” Allura repeated, as she gave the dog a scratch behind the ears. “Alright, go!”

Shiro barely had time to set his tea safely aside before Laika was dashing across the room and launching himself up into Shiro’s lap. Shiro groaned, but he couldn’t help but laugh as Laika sniffed at his face and neck, tail thumping. “Okay, okay, that’s enough!”

Allura was grinning as she fell on the seat beside him. “No one can resist that dog,” she said.

He was inclined to agree. At least his enjoyment at Laika’s overenthusiastic attitude seemed to comfort Allura a little. Shiro could tell she still wanted to ask if something was wrong, but there really wasn’t anything, and maybe she could sense that. He really was fine – better than fine, actually.

It was just a waiting game.


	292. Reassure

Plans for the graduation ceremony were going well. The nice weather meant that the ceremony could be held outside, so it was up to the adults to clean up the backyard and get everything ready. They would have tables and chairs set up for the kids and their families, and had hired a marquee so that there would be enough shade. 

Shiro was in the middle of cleaning up the furthest areas of the spacious yard when his group of kids came up to him. It was Lance that caught his attention with a gentle tug on the end of his shirt. “What’s the matter, Lance?”

“What are you doing, Shiro?” Lance asked, curious, as he looked between the clean sections of the yard and Shiro himself. 

Shiro had already weeded the entire area, and removed any large sticks from the ground. He was in the middle of raking up leaves when the kids interrupted him. It was simple yard work, and he’d have to do it again before graduation day, but it would be easier to keep it maintained as best as he could until then. The yard was already well maintained thanks to Coran, and the flowerbeds were starting to bloom with a vibrant array of flowers. It was a perfect place to have graduation. 

“I’m cleaning,” Shiro said, somewhat amused by the bewildered expression on Lance’s face. “This is where graduation will be, so I have to make it look nice, don’t I?”

Lance hummed. “Graduation?”

“That’s here?” Keith frowned.

“It will be,” Shiro said, nodding.

“But I don’t want to graduate,” Keith said. “I don’t want to leave here.”

“Me either,” Hunk said as he looked up at Shiro with a worried expression and big eyes. “School is going to be scary.”

Shiro sighed. He crouched down and beckoned the kids closer, knowing that deep down they were probably nervous about graduating and leaving the place they’d grown up in. “There’s nothing to worry about, or to be scared about,” Shiro said, as he held out his hands for the kids to grab onto. “It’s going to be fun, and you’re all going to be great. It’s like… an adventure.”

“But you won’t be there,” Pidge said.

“That’s true,” Shiro agreed, “but that doesn’t mean we’ll never see each other again. I’ll still be here, and you’re allowed to visit whenever you want. I want to hear all the great stories you’ll have about school! It’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Promise?” Lance asked, his expression open and hopeful and still tinged with fading worry.

“I promise.”

He was rewarded with relieved smiles.

“Now you four go and play again,” Shiro said, as he stood. “I’ve got a lot of cleaning to do so your graduation day will be perfect! Unless, of course, you want to help?”

Keith’s nose wrinkled. “No way!”

Shiro laughed. He didn’t think the kids would want to help clean, but it was the perfect way to get them to return to the play equipment where the rest of the kids were. He was happy that they seemed less nervous about graduation now.

He’d realised that even if they were leaving, it didn’t change the way he felt about them. Working with children had made him learn how to live again, and that was something he’d never forget. There was always something good to be gained out of spending time with them, even if it was for work.

And he was sure that no matter what happened afterwards, he’d still be okay.


	293. Rescue

While it was usually Allura that took Laika to his training sessions, this time Shiro went with them. He normally had work or household duties to keep him occupied while his girlfriend and his dog was gone, but that evening he had nothing to do, so Allura had invited him along.

The facility wasn’t too far away. It was where most types of service dogs were trained, even the ones used by police officers. Shiro had only seen pictures of the building itself, but it was welcoming, and inside there were pictures of dogs everywhere, which was nice.

After signing in, Allura let Laika loose into an indoor play area where there were dog toys, beds, and kennels. A sign helpfully supplied that it was a waiting room for the animals, and that all approved dogs were allowed in. Shiro watched Laika scamper around the room for a moment, nose to the floor, before Allura guided him away by the elbow.

Laika’s trainer was a woman in her late forties. She had a kind face and laugh lines. “It’s nice to finally meet you!” She said, as Allura introduced them to one another. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr Shirogane.”

He smiled, a little nervous. Even though he’d never mentioned it to Allura, he knew that a large part of Laika’s training was for him. The dog had an incredibly perceptive mind, and any time Shiro’s mood dipped or his mind started to conjure up nightmares while he slept, Laika was there to comfort him. As smart and empathetic as Laika was, there was no way he learned that on his own.

It wasn’t that he minded, though. He really appreciated Allura’s decision to train Laika to help him. Laika _did_ help, in more ways than one. He quelled Shiro’s nightmares and encouraged him to be healthier. There was nothing that motivated him to take a walk every evening more than his dog did. Shiro owed a lot to Laika, and in return, he owed a lot to Allura. She was the one who spent all the time taking Laika to training and continuing his teaching at home.

But it was still nerve wracking to be at the facility. Realistically he knew that the trainers there would see veterans and amputees frequently, if not every day. Even though his arm did receive a cursory glance, there weren’t any lingering stares or pointed looks, and that helped calm him down a little. Even if his arm was sort of the reason Laika was there in the first place, no one seemed to mind. There was no attention paid to it, nothing more than a glance. 

It helped that Allura eventually intertwined their fingers together, almost without thinking about it. He didn’t mention it, but her presence helped a lot. He was even more comfortable when they went to retrieve Laika, who glued himself against Shiro’s legs while he and Allura talked with the instructor.

As much as Shiro had rescued Laika from that storm, he thought to himself as he reached down to pat Laika’s head, Laika had rescued him.


	294. Grade

The week before the kids’ graduation, the kindergarten hired a photographer to do a group photo for the kids that would be graduating. It was a nice day outside and the class members were all dressed remarkably well, but as all the older kids were lined up for their photos, Shiro noticed a problem he hadn’t considered before.

Pidge was a few months younger than Keith, Lance and Hunk, putting him in the grade below them, and thus he wouldn’t be graduating for another year. He was so close to the other kids that Shiro had all but forgotten that Pidge wasn’t the same age as them, and coming to the realisation that Pidge wouldn’t have his friends with him for a year made a jolt of worry go through him.

It seemed that Pidge had forgotten, as well.

While Allura took over Shiro’s job of getting the kids in line, Shiro supervised the rest of the class. Allura had given him one look and instantly known what every worry currently spinning through his mind was about, and he’d never been more grateful that she could read him like an open book when he needed her to. 

“Why can’t I go with them?” Pidge asked, eyebrows furrowed as he stared up at Shiro.

“You’re not old enough, buddy,” Shiro said. He was trying to be as gentle as he could because he _knew_ how much more confident Pidge had become with his friends around, how much they’d made him grow into himself. 

“But why?” Pidge frowned. “They’re my friends.”

Shiro’s heart squeezed. He reached for Pidge’s hand and held onto it tightly. “I know, Pidge. Unfortunately you guys aren’t in the same grade.”

“Won’t we be in the same class at school?”

It was a possibility that Pidge’s intelligence would bump him up a grade, but that wasn’t for anyone at Altea Kindergarten to decide. They could recommend Pidge for advancement, but it was down to the education administration to evaluate him (though Shiro had a feeling Pidge would certainly qualify for it). For now, however, he had to stay exactly where he was, even if he didn’t want to.

“Come here, buddy,” Shiro said, as he crouched down. Pidge slipped into his arms, his fists tightening in Shiro’s shirt. “I know it’s scary, but you’ll be alright. I’ll still be here, and then after a year, you’ll be going to school where Lance and Keith and Hunk are. How does that sound?”

“I don’t want to be left behind,” Pidge mumbled.

Shiro rubbed his back. “I know, Pidge, I know, but it’ll only be for a year. Do you think you’ll be alright?”

Pidge glanced up at him. “You’ll still be here, right? You won’t leave me yet?”

“Of course I’ll be here,” Shiro soothed. “And even when you graduate, all you’ll have to do is call me, and I’ll be there. No matter what.”

Pidge gave him a small smile, and pressed his forehead against Shiro’s chest. “Okay.”


	295. Speech

There were a lot of things suddenly happening that had Shiro both concerned and quite busy.

For one, he was worried about the kid’s graduation. He had to give a small speech – Coran’s idea, but one he oddly enough agreed to, despite having no idea what to say. It was something more for the benefit of the parents than the kids themselves, who likely wouldn’t be able to sit through a long or detailed speech.

“Just think of what you want to say to their parents,” Allura had said, when she’d found him hunched over her laptop in the lounge room one evening. She’d leaned over the back of the couch and put her hands on his shoulders, smiling. “It doesn’t have to be long. Short and sweet is probably better.”

Her advice was helpful. It was easier to thank the parents for letting Shiro teach their kids than it was to thank a bunch of kids for letting him teach them. He thought the parents might appreciate it more, too. The kids had lolly bags from the adults at Altea, and he had a feeling that those might excite them more than a speech.

There was the matter of his engagement speech too, but he couldn’t exactly ask her for advice on that matter, could he?

He was pretty sure he had everything he wanted to say jotted down in his head. Shiro was reluctant to write any of it down anywhere just in case Allura came across it. But he had been thinking about it, and the only problem he was having was actually deciding what he was going to say. When he had a girlfriend as perfect and as beautiful and as kind as Allura, how was he supposed to make a speech short and simple? There were so many things he wanted to say, and his problem was figuring out which things were the most important.

At least he enjoyed thinking about that speech. Even if the entire proposal made him feel squirmy and nervous, he _wanted_ to do it. He had the ring and a location and a mostly thought-out plan, and now all he was thinking about was the little details in between.

Like exactly what he would say when he asked her to marry him.

Besides, “will you marry me?” of course. That was the one part he knew he was definitely going to say.

But he supposed he should focus on one speech at a time. First the graduation speech, and then his engagement speech. 

He was sure both would go just as planned. He had nothing to be nervous about.

Probably.


	296. Wonderful

It rained a little the day before graduation, but the weather was sunny by the time the next morning rolled around. Shiro and Allura were up early so they could get to the kindergarten for last minute preparations. They arrived before Coran and any of the kids and got stuck straight into work.

“Can you handle the chairs?” Allura asked, as she rushed around hanging coloured bunting and congratulations posters.

“Yeah, of course,” Shiro said. He caught Allura by the waist as she rushed past him and pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek. “Don’t stress too much, we did most of the work last night.”

Allura gave him a small, relieved smile. She let out a long exhale and nodded. “You’re right. I just want it to be perfect, you know? I always do. But this is your first graduation and I know how much those kids mean to you, so I want you to be happy, too.”

Shiro’s heart jumped like it always did when Allura came out with things like that. “I’m going to be happy either way,” he said, though he sounded weak with affection. “I’ll do the chairs, you just finish up in here, alright?”

She nodded, and he set to fixing up the chairs outside. All of the seats had been cleaned and stacked under the porch, ready to be set out in neat rows beneath the large trees in the back yard. Once the chairs were lined up he carried the little podium that the kindergarten had to the front of the area. Coran had put bunting and decorations in the trees the previous afternoon after the rain had let up – ones that were still perfect – so once the “stage” was completely done, there wasn’t much left to do.

He ventured back inside to wash his hands and scrub his face clean. It was going to be a warm day and he didn’t want to get sweaty or messy before anyone had even arrived. He’d had Allura fix his hair that morning, and although she’d laughed at how he’d been embarrassed about it, she’d still made his hair look nice. It was brushed back neatly away from his face and he was trying to make sure he didn’t mess it up.

Allura had hung all the decorations inside and set out a table full of snacks and drinks. They had the air conditioner on a low setting inside to chase off some of the impending afternoon heat, so Shiro wasn’t worried about the food going bad.

“How’s everything going?” Shiro asked, as he peeked into the office. Allura was bent over her desk, shuffling through the graduation certificates they’d hand out to the kids. “Everything in order?”

Allura sighed, and straightened. “Yes, everything’s all in order. Did you get the chairs set up?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, perfect.” Allura set the certificates aside and exited the office. They’d cleared out the main rooms of the building to give everyone space to mingle before and after the ceremony, so there were no tables or chairs to sit at. They settled for leaning against the wall. “Feels weird to be here already, huh?”

Shiro nodded in agreement.

“You know, Lance cried the first day he was dropped off,” Allura said. “Really big tears, lots of sniffles, the whole works. He wouldn’t let go of his father’s hands.”

A smile twitched at Shiro’s lips. “Doesn’t sound like him.”

“I know,” Allura laughed, “but he was a real cry baby when he first started coming here.”

“Did Hunk cry, too?”

“For about five minutes, until he realised Lance was crying, and then he spent a solid hour making Lance laugh.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. I think they knew each other before coming here, so Hunk didn’t like seeing his friend upset. He’s a pretty good distraction for Lance, you know. Lance never cries around Hunk for long.”

“They’re good friends,” Shiro said, grinning. He’d been told stories about the kids before he’d started working at Altea Kindergarten, but he’d never been told these ones. “What about Keith? What was he like?”

“Oh, very withdrawn,” Allura said as she sighed again. “He was quiet and didn’t cry at all and wasn’t interested in making friends. He arrived a little later into the year than the rest of the kids so they all wanted to be friends with him. That’s where Lance’s little jealous rivalry started up.”

Shiro laughed. He’d been around to catch the tail end of that phase and it still made him laugh. Lance’s loud personality had drawn Keith out of his shell, even if it was disguised as a rivalry. “At least they’re friends now.”

“That’s true. They’re pretty close, right? I’m glad Keith is more confident now. He’s so attached to Lance that I worry a little still.”

Shiro did too, but he still had no doubt that his kids were going to do well in school. He was fairly certain they were all being sent to the same school, so he knew they’d remain close friends. It hardly felt like it was time for them to leave Altea Kindergarten, and as bittersweet as it was, he really was happy that the kids were growing up.

It was hard not to be when they were so wonderful.


	297. Graduation

The kids arrived perfectly on time for graduation. By the time everyone and their guests were accounted for, the sun was well on its way to the centre of the sky, and a pleasant warmness had filled Altea Kindergarten. 

Shiro was stationed by the front door, ready to welcome everyone. Coran was handing out refreshments and Allura was wrestling the kids into their graduation gowns – a dark blue colour, nice and traditional – so that left Shiro to act as a greeter on behalf of the kindergarten. He was more than happy with his role, especially because all the kids were eager to give him hugs.

It was nice to see the parents, as well. He shook hands and accepted excited embraces from beaming mothers and doting grandparents. 

When it came time to usher everyone outside, Shiro took the families to their seats. Just like he’d predicted, the tall trees in the back yard offered plenty of shade for everyone, especially with the help of the marquee they’d hired. Shiro and Coran were sitting in the front row with Allura, and would take turns addressing the crowd, though it was mostly up to Allura and Coran. At some point during the afternoon Alfor had arrived, and he’d taken a seat with them, too. 

He and Coran had teamed up to give Shiro pointed looks, ones he pointedly ignored in return. They were already as embarrassing as his own father could sometimes be, and he worried that if they were any more obvious Allura would start to catch on. She was already raising her brow at him, which left him sunken into his seat and thoroughly embarrassed. 

The other kids at the kindergarten were also present, including Pidge. Shiro had made sure that Pidge had a good seat, one where he could easily see his friends when they were called up for their award. He wasn’t sure if Pidge was comfortable with the idea of being without his friends for a year, so Shiro was keeping a close eye on him.

Alfor gave the welcoming speech and address on behalf of Altea. It sounded like a pretty standard speech, but Alfor spoke in a way that was hypnotizing and captivating. He had a cheerful lilt to his voice that made Shiro perk up in attention.

There were a few little awards to be handed out, so Alfor had Coran give them to the kids while he read out their names. Shiro hadn’t been involved in deciding the awards, other than when his input was needed for certain children. He wasn’t surprised when Keith was given the “most improved” award. It sparked a prideful feeling in him, one he didn’t bother trying to hide.

Keith really had improved a lot in the time Shiro had known him. He wasn’t withdrawn and sulky and afraid to talk anymore. He even smiled when Coran handed him his award.

After the awards had been given out, Alfor introduced Coran to make his speech. It was only something small, and Coran seemed quite teary and emotional all throughout, but no one minded. He had one award to give out as well, though it was more for the families than the children. This was one Shiro hadn’t known about, and his questioning look to Allura made her laugh under her breath.

“It’s an Altea tradition,” she whispered, as she leaned closer to him, “we give the parents who have helped the most with the kids each year a little reward. Just something to show we appreciate their support, you know? Our kids here are wonderful and their parents are just the same.”

Shiro could only nod in agreement. 

The award – which included a thank-you note and a hamper full of fresh fruits and chocolate and a gift certificate or two – went to Lance’s mother. Shiro was surprised when she was called up, but when he thought about it, she was the perfect choice. She was always willing to volunteer at event days and donated heaps of new toys to the kindergarten. He hadn’t known her for as long as Allura or Coran had, but he didn’t doubt their choice.

After Coran’s speech was Shiro’s. He was nervous but Allura squeezed his hand before he went up, which made him feel a little better.

“I haven’t known the kids for as long as the others,” he said, after he’d welcomed their guests and thanked them for coming, “but Altea Kindergarten had greatly impacted my life. I think it’s clear that I’m a veteran, even if the kids think I’m a robot.”

That earned him a round of amused laughter.

“I found it hard to motivate myself after leaving the Garrison, but coming here has helped me rebuild myself into the person I always wanted to be,” he continued. Allura had told him that if he was nervous, he should look over everyone’s heads, so it seemed like he was still engaged. But he wasn’t too nervous, even if his words felt like a confession. He pretended he was talking to Allura and everything seemed easier. “I thought about mentioning how I’ve enjoyed spending time with the kids, and teaching them, and while that’s true, I think there’s something more to it.”

Allura smiled at him and nodded when he glanced at her.

“It’s not just my impact on the kids that comes to mind when I realise that some of them are leaving,” he continued. “While I sincerely hope that I’ve taught them things they can find useful and given them the most enjoyable days at Altea as possible, I’ve also come to realise what impact they have had on me, too. I think that without the kids I wouldn’t be who I am today. I wouldn’t be proud of my work, or have an amazing partner, or be confident enough to stand here and admit that before I came to work here, my life wasn’t going anywhere. Your children gave me a reason to live and I’ve loved every moment of being with them.”

There was a rustle of affectionate sighs from that parents that made him smile to hide his embarrassment.

“And I realise that most of this has been directed towards the parents, so I want to say something to the kids, too,” he said, as he looked towards where the children were sitting. Half the time they seemed bored by the speeches, but they were listening to him, and it made his heart feel light. He had a hundred things he wanted to say, but they were just children, so he said what he thought they would truly understand. “I’m really going to miss you.”

“Don’t cry, Mr Shiro!” Lance cried out. “We’ll come visit, I swear!”

“Why do you finally start calling me ‘Mister’ now, Lance? You haven’t all year,” Shiro teased.

“Because Ma is here,” Lance said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Right, Keith?”

“He’s right, Mr Shiro,” Keith said, nodding gravely.

Shiro laughed, as did everyone else. His kids were really something, weren’t they?

After his speech, Allura went. She kissed his cheek as he took his seat, and whispered, “I’m really glad you came to work here, otherwise I would never have found myself an amazing partner, either.”

Allura’s speech was perfect, in Shiro’s opinion. She managed to sound professional and affectionate all at once and it was very admirable. He didn’t find himself bored or drifting her speech (though with her, he found he was never bored in the first place).

When it came time to hand out the graduation certificates for the kids, Allura called out names, and Alfor handed out the awards individually. Each child was called up in alphabetical order, where they paused to let parents take photos before moving to line up in front of the rows of chairs. The kids seemed very excited by the entire process, and when it was all over, there was a rush of happy cheers from everyone present.

Even if the kids were leaving, Shiro somehow felt like everything would be okay. It wasn’t just because the kids had comforted him or Allura had comforted him. It was because he loved his job and the people it let him meet too much to think about leaving, and there was nothing that could stop him from making cherished memories with any child who came to Altea.

And that was something he’d never stop being grateful for.


	298. Excited

Shiro could have cried with relief when he woke up on Saturday and saw the sun cascading in through the part in their bedroom curtains. The weather forecast had declared that the entire weekend would be sunny and warm, with a slight breeze and little to no clouds, but a little part of Shiro was worried that everything would go wrong, starting with the weather.

But the sun was a good omen, he thought. 

It was a good day to propose.

He woke Allura up with a cup of fresh tea and a kiss on the cheek. She hardly stirred until the scent of the tea woke her up. When she started making sleepy mumbles, he whispered, “Good morning, Allura,” and kissed her again. That seemed to do the job.

“Good morning,” she whispered.

“Happy anniversary,” he said, as he set her tea on the bedside table so that he could take her hands in his own. 

A beautiful smile curled at the corners of her lips. “Happy anniversary,” she said. “Two years, huh?”

“About that,” he teased. He slumped down against her and laughed when she let out an exaggerated groan. She was still warm from sleep and her hair had fanned around her head like a silver cloud and a part of him wanted nothing more than to lay in bed with her all day. But he had bigger plans, and those plans involved leaving bed.

“Let’s sleep all day,” Allura said. It was like she could read his mind, and it made him laugh again. She wiggled an arm loose and grabbed him around the shoulders, pinning him down. “See? You’re already cooperating. Good Shiro.”

He squirmed out of her grip and tucked her arm back under the covers before wrapping her up in the blanket like a burrito. “I seem to have gained the upper hand,” he said. He glanced down at his prosthetic. “No pun intended.”

Allura snickered. “Who says this wasn’t part of my plan all along? Now you’re stuck in bed with me, with nowhere to go. Looks like I’ve won, Mr Shirogane.”

He smiled to himself, and couldn’t help but think that hopefully, by the end of the day, he wouldn’t be the only potential Shirogane in their little family. But he couldn’t think of that just yet; he had a lot of other things to get through first. Like getting Allura out of bed – that was the perfect place to start. 

And considering she was already wrapped up nice and tight and he was physically strong enough to carry her… well, why wouldn’t he just scoop her up?

That was exactly what he did, grinning all the while. Her surprised cry only spurred him on as he carried her, blanket and all, to the kitchen. “But my tea!” She complained.

“I’ll get it for you,” he said, as he set her down on one of the kitchen stools. “While I do so, you decide what you want for breakfast, and I’ll make it, okay?”

She rested her chin in her hand and blinked at him sweetly. “Is this Café Shiro?”

“For now it is,” he laughed. He’d thought about making her breakfast in bed, but he wanted to eat with her, and this was the perfect chance for Allura to wake up. At least, that’s what he thought. At least she seemed pleased with the idea, though that could be the sleepiness on her face deceiving him. In either case, she was cute and he was more than ready to pamper her all day, so why wait any longer?

Breakfast involved Allura’s retrieved tea and pancakes, as per the orders of his princess. He served them with sliced strawberries and syrup and lemon sauce and sugar. He planned for most of the morning to be at home. They didn’t need to leave until eleven, so there was plenty of time to chat over pancakes and do everything but the important things.

“So what are the plans for today?” Allura asked, as she raised a brow at him. “Relaxation? A trip to the dog park? Take-out for dinner?”

He cleared his throat. “I made plans, actually.” He’d told her that he wanted to do something, but he hadn’t let her know anything about what he planned. Everything she suggested sounded tempting and perfect, but he had a goal for the day and he really wanted to reach it.

“You did?” Allura asked, surprised.

He nodded, and checked his phone. “We have to leave at eleven,” he said, “plenty of time.”

She smiled, her cheeks pink. “So mysterious,” she teased. “Don’t I get any clues?”

“None at all,” he said. He set his plate in the sink and tried to calm his racing heart. “But I do have a gift for you.”

“What is it?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you what it was,” he said, amused. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Alright then,” Allura said, sighing, as if she was incredibly put out by the idea of waiting. “But you can have your gift now.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” he said, as embarrassment fluttered through him.

“Of course I did, it’s your anniversary too,” she said. “Besides, you got me a gift, didn’t you? It’s only fair, and I really wanted to. Now you just wait right there.”

He felt a flush go through him. He was tempted to point out that his gift for her was sort of a gift for him too, but he didn’t. Instead he watched Allura shuffle out of the room with her blanket and return without it a moment later, her hands instead holding a little box wrapped in a blue ribbon. She encouraged him to open it.

Nestled inside was a simple, classy watch that looked expensive and clean and handsome. He liked it instantly, and couldn’t help but grin.

“Do you like it?” Allura asked. Her fond little smile told Shiro that she already knew the answer, but he nodded anyway. And considering he was already dressed for the day, he held out his left hand, and only smiled when Allura laughed and obligingly fastened it around his wrist. “I also bought candles for you, but this was the main present,” she said, as she pet his wrist, soft and affectionate. “Plus, candles aren’t exciting.”

“I think they’re exciting.”

“That’s because you’re a dork.”

He laughed quietly. “You’ll still have to wait for your gift, though. I have plans for today and I’m going to stick to them.”

She clicked her fingers. “Damn.”

“It’s worth it,” he promised. “I hope, anyway.”

“Shiro,” she admonished, as she rolled her eyes and held out her arms expectantly, “anything you get me is something I’m going to love.”

He hummed as he squeezed himself into her embrace, eyes closing. He knew he probably had nothing to worry over, but that still didn’t stop his heart from squeezing with nerves. Excited nerves, but nerves nevertheless. He wanted her to enjoy herself and for everything to be perfect and for her to say yes. 

But he’d never know if he never asked, so it was time to get on with it.


	299. Propose

The drive to the apple orchard was pretty peaceful. Shiro rolled down the car windows and Allura turned the radio up and it seemed like the pleasantness of the weather was seeping into every corner of their lives, filtering in through the windshield and carrying itself along the warm breeze. 

Their destination was a secret until Shiro turned onto the long, familiar road that eventually led to the apple orchard. Allura twisted around in her seat to double check that the orchard’s sign was in fact that one she’d seen, and then she’d given him her biggest grin. “We’re going to the orchard again, aren’t we?”

He only smiled.

Allura looked particularly beautiful that day. She was wearing a summer dress patterned with yellow flowers that went just beneath her knees and white sandals. There was a blue ribbon woven through the braid in her hair. She looked like she’d walked straight out of a vintage photo and it was doing silly things to Shiro’s heart. Part of him wondered what he’d done to deserve a woman so beautiful, but she’d already told him that all he’d done was be himself. He wondered if loving her as much as he did was enough to make up for everything she’d done for him.

The apple orchard was just as grand as Shiro remembered it. They were welcomed inside by enthusiastic staff members. Last time they’d visited the venue they’d made dinner reservations and gone apple-picking. This time, Shiro had a little bit more planned. He’d still made reservations at the restaurant for an early evening dinner, and they’d still go apple-picking, but to fill some of the time he’d also book spots for them on a tour of the facility and a wine tasting session. It sounded like something couples did, and he was sure it would be fun.

The tour was up first. Shiro took Allura by the hand and followed the directions from a staff member to the start of the tour, which was by the rows of apple trees that made up the back orchard.

“When did you have time to plan all of this?” Allura asked, delighted and curious, as she gave him a raised-brow look. The tour guide was leading them through the trees towards a back section of the venue, where the building looked a least one hundred years old. 

“I have my ways,” he said. He could feel the ring box in his pocket like a physical weight, and was glad Allura was standing on the other side of him. It was too warm to wear a jacket but he was sure to wear a shirt that was a little long on him, so the ends covered the top pockets of his pants. If anyone looked too closely they’d probably see the shape of the box outlined by the fabric, but thankfully no one had any reason to look.

“So mysterious,” Allura teased. 

He laughed quietly.

The tour lasted just under two hours, and covered almost all of the venue, including the orchard yards and the winery centre. As it turned out, much of the orchard was built around an old castle, which explained the old architecture. Although the interior was styled with a modern, homely touch, the exterior had remained almost exactly as it was when it was first built: stone archways bordered quaint courtyards, metal bent into intricate shapes lined the fences, terraces were upheld by columns of carved stones with delicate capitals, each entryway was marked by an ornate portico. There was no end to the beauty hidden in each crack and corner, with endless rows and pots and barrels full of flowers at every turn.

It was nice to get to know more about the venue considering how special Shiro hoped it would become. Allura seemed enamoured by the sights and grinned throughout the entire tour, even when their feet started to tire. She had her phone out for countless photos, even roping Shiro into bending down to take photos with her. He still wasn’t that good at smiling in photos, but Allura seemed very pleased, and when he snuck a kiss to her cheek just as the camera snapped she’d laughed and blushed.

The wine tasting was a quicker affair. They still had a couple of hours until their dinner reservations, so they didn’t rush. If Shiro were being honest, they weren’t drinking much, either. It was more of a social thing, he supposed. They were given a glass each to smell and taste and while neither one of them knew much about what made a wine good or not, it was still interesting. 

“I wonder how long these take to make,” Allura said, as she offered Shiro her glass of the orchard’s home brand wine. He’d stopped tasting a few minutes previous, finding himself too nervous to drink as time carried on, not to mention the fact that he was driving. Still, he took a delicate sniff of Allura’s glass, and was surprised to find that the wine smelled strongly of apples.

“I wouldn’t know,” he said. He gestured to the glass. “It smells really nice, though.”

Allura grinned. “Right?”

They were seated at the winery, a small building located at the far end of the venue. It was attached to the main building by a spacious courtyard, so they’d taken a seat outside under the shade of the second-story verandas. Little wooden tables and benches lined the shaded areas, each decorated with a small bouquet of wildflowers.

“It’s nice being back here,” Allura said, sighing pleasantly as she leaned back in her chair. Her eyes roamed across the sunny courtyard. “I’m glad you chose this place.”

Shiro smiled. He leaned against the table and rested his chin in his hand. The orchard had provided them with a complimentary plate of crackers, cheese and apple slices, but they’d already finished them. His mouth still tasted sweet from the apples. “It’s nice here, and I enjoyed it last time,” he told her. And it was the perfect place to propose, but he didn’t say that.

“I did as well,” Allura said. She set aside her wine glass mostly untouched and leaned on the table too. “This was a perfect idea, Shiro.”

Relief fluttered through him. 

After they’d rested for a bit, they headed out to the apple orchards. The sun would start to set soon, but they had enough daylight and enough time before their reservation to pick apples. A member of staff handed them a basket, which Allura carried, and then they made their way to the rows of trees the place was famous for.

This was the moment he’d planned to propose. He didn’t want to do it during dinner, not only because he’d be too nervous, but because he knew Allura wouldn’t want to feel pressured to answer in front of strangers. He wanted the moment to be just between them.

Trying to pinpoint the perfect time to ask made him nervous. His palms were definitely sweating. Allura seemed none the wiser as she twisted apples free of their stems to place in her basket. She was talking about something but he struggled to concentrate. 

“Are you alright, Shiro?” She asked, as she glanced back at him. He was following her aimlessly through the trees, his eyes moving from her to the sunset and back. What better time than now? He was never going to do it if he didn’t just go for it.

“I’m alright,” he said. 

She smiled and nodded, then turned back to the trees. “These apples look nice, don’t they?”

He hummed in agreement. “Allura, you know I love you a lot, right?”

“Of course I do,” she said, laughing quietly. “I love you too, Shiro.”

Her laugh brought a smile to his face. What did he have to be worried about when she expressed her love for him so easily? So readily? “I really mean it. I’m not sure where I would be now if it weren’t for you. I wouldn’t have ever been this happy with my life if it weren’t for you.”

She carefully placed another apple in her basket, looking both amused and flushed at his words. “I feel the same,” she confessed, scanning the trees for another perfect apple to pluck. 

“You’re the kindest person I know,” he told her. “The kids love you and your family is so warm and everything you do amazes me. I think I fell for you the first day I started working at Altea Kindergarten, when I saw you with the kids and they looked at you as if you were made from pure magic. You teased me so much back then, it was like you knew I liked you. I felt like you could read every thought in my head and I didn’t even mind.”

She laughed again. 

“But I’ve loved you for a long time, in a way that I don’t think I could have loved anyone else. You made me accept what happened to my arm and treated it like it was any other part of me, and no one’s ever done that before. I thought that my arm and the scar on my face would leave me alone for the rest of my life but then there you were, acting like nothing was different.”

“Nothing is different,” she reminded him, her voice insistent. “I love every part of you, even that scar across your nose. I trace it when you sleep, you know. I’ve gotten awfully good at doing that.”

This time he laughed. He hadn’t known that. “See? You always continue to surprise me. I’ve never felt more like myself when I’m with you.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” She was smiling to herself as she plucked another apple free from its tree. “I really do love you, Shiro. You treat me gently without underestimating my abilities and made me realise that I didn’t need to fear letting someone else know my vulnerabilities. And you plan the best dates!”

He flushed, his heart racing. He wanted to blurt the words out, and struggled to recall all the things he’d wanted to say to her. How was he meant to talk when he felt like he was going to cry?

“Oh, look at that one,” Allura said, as she tilted her head back to peer up into the tree they’d stopped beside. “Doesn’t it look nice?”

Distracted, he followed her gaze. The apple she’d spotted was round and glossy, and it did look nice, but it was far out of her reach.

“Can you help me get it?” She asked.

He laughed to himself. “Of course.”

Allura put her arm on his shoulders for balance as he grabbed her around the thighs, lifting her up higher. He didn’t struggle all that much to lift her, though she did wobble a bit. Still, when she curled her fingers around the apple and pulled it free, her grin was nothing less than victorious. “I’ve got it,” she said. “We make the perfect team, Shiro.”

Gently, he set her down, and didn’t bother straightening. She was distracted by the apple, running her fingers over its smooth edges as he pulled the ring free from his pocket and sunk to one knee. 

“Allura,” he said, his heart bursting with nervousness when she turned to face him and promptly dropped her prized apple, “will you marry me?”

Allura inhaled, her fingertips pressed to her lips. Her eyes darted between the ring perched in the box and Shiro’s hopeful face. Her cheeks went bright red when she finally processed the question. “Y-yes!’ She finally exclaimed, as she set her basket down. “Of course I’ll marry you!”

He grinned so wide it hurt as he stood back up to pull Allura into a hug. Her fingers tightened in the back of his shirt as she buried her face into his shoulder.

“You big dork,” she said, sounding a strange mix of sniffily and happy. “You have to say all of that again, I wasn’t properly taking it in. I can’t believe you did all of this for me!”

He laughed, holding onto her tightly. When they separated, he slid the ring onto her finger, and was excited when it fit perfectly.

“This is my mother’s ring,” Allura said, teary.

“I spoke with Alfor,” Shiro said. “He told me she wanted you to have it when the time was, and thought that this was the right time for it.”

“You spoke with my father?”

“And Coran,” Shiro admitted.

Allura whacked him gently. “Shiro, you didn’t have to do so much. I’m sure they have no problem with us marrying.”

“They don’t,” he said, laughing, “but I wanted to ask anyway. Besides, now you have your mother’s ring, and I think that’s important. Is it okay for an engagement ring?”

“It’s perfect,” Allura said, without hesitation. “You’re perfect, Shiro. I can’t believe you kept this plan of yours from me for so long. Since when are you so devious?”

“I learned from the best.”

She laughed, and slid her hands up to his neck. The ring on her finger was cold against his skin, and it sent proud little shivers down his spine. When she pulled him down an inch, he obliged her with a sweet kiss, and couldn’t help but smile against her mouth. He’d kissed Allura a dozen times but that time felt like the first all over again, like nothing could ever make him feel happier or warmer or like he could be any more deserving of her love.

“We’re going to get married,” Allura whispered, sounding elated.

“We are,” he agreed.

“I love you, Shiro,” she said, as she kissed him again. “So much.”

He smiled. “I love you too, Allura.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the longest I've gone without updating Kindergarten in the last year haha, but I'm very reluctant to end it! I definitely wanted this chapter to happen second-to-last, so if there's anything you want to see in the last chapter, now is your chance to request it! There will only be one more chapter after this ❤


	300. Beginning

“Lance, will you please –”

“Come on, Shiro! It’s fun! Fun!”

“Lance. Put the water gun down. I’m telling you, he won’t like it.”

“He’ll love it.”

“Allura,” Shiro said, as he sent his wife – his _wife_ ¬– a pleading, wide-eyed look, “will you please help me here?”

She glanced over at him, her bright eyes taking in Shiro’s current predicament. A tiny, amused smile curled in the corners of her lips, threatening to take over her face. She had a pretty glow to her, one that was more than just the faintest blush of pink in her cheeks. “Sorry love,” she said, holding up the tray of finger foods in her hands, “I’m a bit preoccupied.”

Shiro groaned. Even after all these years, she still liked to tease him. It was ridiculous and he loved it. But it didn’t really help when Shiro was trying to convince Lance _not_ to challenge his _son_ to a water fight. Which, in itself, didn’t seem particularly awful, except for the fact that Shiro’s sweet little boy was only a year old.

“Maybe next year, Lance,” Shiro suggested, offering a weak smile. Little Alfie was holding tight onto his leg, leaving Shiro half hunched over so that he could rest his hand on the back of his son’s head. “He’s not big enough yet.”

Lance pouted. He was ten years old now, and had an attitude bigger than the sun with a smile to match. As far as Shiro knew, and he knew a lot, Lance was attending a nearby school with a good reputation and nice teachers. It had been a great comfort to his weary heart all those years ago when he found out Lance was joined at the school by Keith and Hunk. 

Every now and then, the kids and Shiro’s family would meet up at the local park or at Shiro and Allura’s home. The Holts were close with the McClains, Gundersons, and Koganes because of Pidge, so in turn the Shiroganes joined the fray, too. It was nice to be allowed to see the kids even outside of the kindergarten. For a while Shiro had feared he was an intruder, that it was strange he’d developed such a connection with children that were not his own.

But the parents hadn’t seem to mind. Once, Mrs McClain had told him something that really struck a chord with him.

“It’s not just you that’s attached to the kids,” she’d said, a little while after the children had graduated from Altea Kindergarten. “But it’s them who’ve grown attached to you, too. I think Lance wants to be a better person now, because he sees you and he sees what you’ve achieved and how everyone around you adores you. You really are his hero.”

He found it difficult to put himself in that position, to see himself as someone the kids he adored would really want to be like. It wasn’t a feeling that faded, exactly, but it became less prevalent as the children grew older and he got to see them accomplish things in school. Every time he saw the children, he was rewarded with their achievements – they felt like his own, and their excitement became his excitement, their pride became his pride.

And then he became a father.

Being a dad changed the way he saw the world. It was a quick change, one he felt a little unprepared for, but one that was nevertheless extremely welcome. Being a father made him want to be the hero the kids already saw him as.

He and Allura had been married for two years when Allura fell pregnant. It wasn’t exactly planned, but it wasn’t unplanned, either. They spent months talking about it, trying to decide when the best time to expand their family was. There were things they both wanted – stable incomes, a decent savings account, a house – before they’d even considered having a baby. There was the matter of Allura’s personal opinion, too. Shiro had been adamant that she only make the decision when she felt completely ready. He knew pregnancies were difficult and that they made permanent changes to the body, and he wanted her to be completely comfortable with that.

She had been, and she’d found his worry endearing, but he’d still worried nevertheless.

When Allura had gone off her birth control, and Shiro had become more lax with protection, they were more than ready for a baby. It wasn’t like they’d actively tried, but they’d decided to see what happened. It was a calm, paced decision. 

And then, three years into their marriage, baby Alfor had been born. Shiro had been a wreck. There was no other way to describe the way he’d fussed over Allura throughout the entirety of her pregnancy, from the moment she told him they were having a baby to the day Alfor was born. He still remembered the day Allura had told him she was pregnant. She’d been sick for a while, and after stubbornly refusing to see a doctor, she’d finally relented. Shiro had been worried all day at work, but the kids were a handful, and he was more than glad for the distraction.

When she’d told him, it had taken a while to sink in. He’d stared at her, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, trying to comprehend the fact that he was going to be a _dad._ It had felt impossible. Felt too good to be real.

But it was real. And it continued to feel real in every month that had passed, in every moment that told him they really were going to have a baby – in the morning sickness that woke Allura up in the middle of the night, in the first kicks they’d felt, in the ultrasound pictures and the first baby beanie they bought and the nights spent ruminating over what name could possibly be perfect enough for their little baby.

That was another thing he’d insisted on, the name. Allura had taken his last name, so the baby would be a Shirogane too, and that had felt like more than enough for him. He had a say in what they named the baby, of course, but he’d wanted it to mean something to Allura. They hadn’t known the baby’s gender until he’d been born, so they had names that would suit both genders ready. Shiro had been the one to suggest Alfor. 

It had come to him when he’d seen Alfor bring Allura a cup of tea, when she was late into her pregnancy and too tired to move around. She’d been curled up in the armchair when Alfor had visited. She hadn’t wanted to miss his visit, even though Alfor had been worried that she hadn’t gotten enough sleep because of him. He’d wrapped her in a blanket and brought her tea, a perfect picture of a doting father. Allura had become drowsier and drowsier while Alfor talked to her quietly, praising the wardrobe of clothes they’d picked out for the baby and the crib Shiro had built and the colour of the nursery walls, all the things that Allura needed to hear parental reassurance for. She’d fallen asleep like that, comforted that her father was around to watch over her.

Once he’d gotten the idea in his mind, Shiro hadn’t been able to let it go.

Allura had been very surprised when Shiro mentioning naming their baby after her father, if the baby was a boy. She’d become quite teary, and told him they didn’t have to, but Shiro wanted to.

That was how Alfie got his name.

Shiro thought it was perfect.

Though, to be fair, he thought everything about his wife and his baby were perfect.

The kids had been very excited when they learned Allura would be he having a baby. Hunk, Pidge and Lance all had older siblings, but only Lance had younger ones, so a baby was a new experience for them all. 

Especially for Keith, who had no siblings. He hadn’t really comprehended the idea that Allura was having a baby until he’d been introduced to Alfie, when Alfie was two weeks old. He’d been completely fascinated by Alfie, who’d been swaddled in blankets that Keith carefully peeked into. Shiro had never seen his eyes go quite so wide or sparkly. 

All of the kids had appointed themselves as Alfie’s big brothers. Whenever the families met up for barbecues on the weekend or picnics at the park or birthdays, the kids would flock to Alfie like moths drawn to flames. It was a big event when the kids found out Alfie could crawl around and toddle on his own. 

But playing with the big kids was still a little out of Alfie’s range, for now. He was growing up into a very shy boy, and he tended to stay with Shiro while they were out, which Shiro didn’t particularly mind. When Alfie became comfortable, then he was far more outgoing, and very willing to wander after the older boys. But he still took a bit to warm up to others, for now.

Like then – Alfie was clutching at Shiro’s leg, half to keep himself upright and half to make sure Shiro didn’t go anywhere. Lance and the others were always incredibly gentle when they played with Alfie, but Alfie just wasn’t big enough for some things yet.

“You go play, buddy,” Shiro told Lance. “It’s a nice day today. Once you’re done, then we’ll find something for everyone to do, yeah?”

Lance frowned at him, but when Alfie gave him a wide-eyed, awed look, and hid further behind Shiro’s leg, Lance started to smile. “Alright,” he said, grinning. “But we’ll play later, okay Alfie?”

Alfie didn’t reply, but Lance wasn’t bothered. He had a younger sibling, after all, so he was used to being around babies. He had a pretty large family too, with lots of young cousins. After being reassured that Alfie would be able to play later, Lance was off, heading back to where Hunk, Pidge and Keith were waiting down on the grass in the backyard. 

It was strange to think about how much the kids had grown up. They were all taller and wiser, and he didn’t need to treat them so carefully anymore. He’d long since gotten over the little lurch in his heart whenever he saw them darting around the park too fast or taking a leap off the back porch steps. 

“How about we go back to Mama, huh Alfie?” Shiro asked, looking down at his son.

Alfie whined, and lifted his arms up, chubby fingers splayed open. Shiro heaved him up with an exaggerated groan and rested Alfie on his hip. Although Alfie had grown quite a lot bigger in the last year, he still felt tiny, like any small movement could break him. But Shiro loved to hold him, to have Alfie cradled in his arms or sitting on his shoulders or perched on his hip. He sometimes felt like he was hogging Alfie’s attention, but Allura was more than happy to let Shiro parade around with their son. He couldn’t help it, he was just so proud of everything that Alfie did.

Shiro went back to sit at the table on the deck. Allura smiled at him as he took a seat. She’d fetched Alfie’s water bottle from inside, and handed it to him as Shiro settled their baby in his lap. Laika – older and greyer now, and less inclined to run around – rested under the table beside them, dozing quietly, completely content. 

“Glad to see the kids are having fun,” Allura said, as her eyes glanced between the group running around on the grass and Alfie. “It was a great idea to bring the water guns.”

“You have Matt to thank for that,” Shiro chuckled.

“Did I hear my name?” Matt asked, as he swept out of the house with a pile of juice boxes for the kids. He set them down on the table and scooped up Alfie out of Shiro’s arms, holding him high as he cooed and smiled. “How’s my favourite nephew, huh? You keeping Shiro on his toes for me?”

Alfie giggled, recognising Matt’s face. 

Matt handed him back to Shiro before Alfie could get fussy. “He’s so much bigger now,” Matt said, sighing wistfully as he ruffled Alfie’s hair. 

“I know,” Shiro agreed. “He’s gonna grow big and tall, aren’t you Alfie?”

Alfie just cooed. He could say a few words, but wasn’t often inclined to. He seemed fine with letting people talk at him, and simply held onto his water bottle as Allura gently ran her fingers through his fine, dark hair.

When Allura had been pregnant, Shiro had often wondered what features Alfie would have. In every image he conjured up, Alfie had had blue eyes, just as pretty and as striking as Allura’s. He’d been completely awestruck when Alfie’s newborn eyes had settled into their true colour – a blue just as intense as Allura’s. He’d inherited a mix of their features – Shiro’s eye shape, Allura’s nose, hair dark like Shiro’s but thick and slightly curly like Allura’s. His skin was a subtle mix of both; dark, but not as dark as Allura. He couldn’t have been any more perfect than he was.

Lunch time rolled around after the kids were done with their water fight. They climbed up onto the deck dripping wet and crowded around the table, where food cooked by Mr Gunderson and Mr Holt had been spread across the table. There was a lot, but then again, a lot of people were over. 

Alfie nibbled on whatever food Shiro had. He sat in Shiro’s lap and alternated between eating bits of bread and grated carrot from his salad – no eggs, because Alfie had a small allergy to them – and hiding his face in Shiro’s chest, content to listen to the sound of Shiro breathing. He really was the sweetest baby ever, even if he did leave a mess of carrot on Shiro’s shirt.

After everyone had eaten, the kids approached Shiro again. Hunk had a small piece of vanilla cake on a paper plate that he offered to Alfie. He’d helped his mother make the dessert without eggs so that Alfie could try it, too.

“Want to eat cake with us, Alfie?” Hunk asked.

Alfie looked up at the sound of his name, caught sight of Hunk, and grinned. Honestly, it was impossible not to. Hunk had grown up into an even more wonderful kid than before, something that only increased with each passing year. Even Alfie was drawn to his warmth. Tentatively, Alfie reached out for the cake.

“He can have some, right Mr Shiro?” Hunk double checked.

“Of course,” Shiro said. He helped Alfie lean closer. “Don’t forget to say thank you, Alfie. Hunk made it especially for you.”

Alfie grinned, showing off his adorable little dimples. He made a whispered “ta” noise; his word for thank you. 

The kids stood around Shiro as they ate their own portions of cake. Keith and Lance were standing close to each other, wearing their matching friendship bracelets and bumping elbows for more room. They were still competitive with each other, and always attached at the hip. Shiro was very glad to see that their close bond was only growing stronger.

One the cake had been consumed – or, in Alfie’s case, half eaten and half left on Shiro’s shirt with the carrot – the kids wanted to play again. Shiro wiped Alfie’s face and hands clean before following them out onto the grass, where the kids kicked around a ball. He wasn’t afraid to let Alfie toddle around with them, not like he used to be. He didn’t jump up in fright every time Alfie fell over, either, not like he always used to. Once Shiro had learned that Alfie only made a fuss out of falling if Shiro did, it became easier to just watch his son get back up on his own, sometimes with the help of the kids, who always kept a watchful eye on him.

Allura joined him down on the grass after a while. She had her hair tied up today, though there were loose strands falling around her face. He put his arm around her waist as she sat beside him and crossed her legs.

“Having fun?”

“Definitely,” she grinned. 

Absentmindedly, he reached for her hand, and ran his thumb over the ring on her finger. Marrying Allura was one of the best things he’d ever done. She’d looked so beautiful that day that he’d cried when she’d walked down the aisle. He still fought to catch his breath every time he looked at photos from their wedding. Matt had been his best man and Alfor and Coran had escorted Allura down the aisle and it had all been perfect. 

“Alfie’s getting better at running,” Shiro said, as he nodded in the direction of the kids. Keith had Alfie by the hand, and was slowly walking beside him, keeping him upright as Alfie kicked the ball in little spurts. When the ball reached the goal – a spot between two pot plants – everyone cheered for Alfie and Alfie let out a delighted giggle.

“He is,” Allura said, smiling. She rested her head against his chest. “Looks like the kids are happy being around him, too.”

Shiro had no doubt they were. All the kids loved to be around Alfie, and they liked being a part of the Shirogane’s lives’. It was especially sweet to see how Keith reacted. He was fiercely protective of Alfie, and practically lit up every time Alfie toddled over to him, wanting his attention. Keith was still working on his social skills, but being able to connect with someone so honestly and openly was doing wonders for him. 

Alfie just had that effect on people. 

“Have I told you today that I love you?” Shiro asked, as he turned his gaze to Allura.

She grinned at him, the same grin Alfie had, as her cheeks went pink. “Only a dozen times,” she said.

“Only a dozen? I’ll have to fix that.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her nose. “I love you.”

A laugh escaped her. “I love you too.”

“I love you more,” he teased, “even if you team up against me with the kids.”

“Oh no, you figured out my plan.”

“My dear, I always know what you’re thinking.”

She quirked a brow. “Do you know?”

“Obviously,” he snorted. “Right now you’re thinking that this grass is itchy but it’s worth it because Alfie is coming over to throw himself at you.”

Allura’s eyes widened, and she turned just in time to catch her giggling son as he collapsed onto her lap. A moment later, Shiro found himself buried beneath a pile of ten-year olds, all of whom were determined to keep him pinned to the ground.

“We have you now, Shiro!” Lance declared.

“No,” Shiro cried, playing along. “Not fair!”

“You’re right,” Pidge said. He was sprawled across Shiro’s chest, a devious grin on his face. “One adult against four kids isn’t fair. Matt! Come help me!”

“Was that my baby brother I heard?” Matt cried from the deck. “Is Shiro being a big meanie?”

“No way!” Shiro said. “You’re meant to be on my side, Matt.”

Matt suddenly appeared beside him, and sat down on him with a grin that was so much like Pidge’s it was scary. “Sorry, Shiro, but Commander Pidge has spoken. Isn’t that right, little brother?”

Pidge’s grin widened in victory. “Right.”

Allura was snickering at the display. Shiro pouted at her, and Alfie wiggled off her lap. For a moment, he was hopeful that his son would come to his rescue, but instead Alfie sat beside his head, and put his little palm on Shiro’s forehead.

“We win, Daddy,” he said.

Shiro gasped. “Alfie wins!”

Alfie giggled, and patted Shiro’s head. 

There really was nothing better than spending time with the people he loved. When the kids – and Matt – finally relented, Allura gathered him in her arms and smothered his face in apologetic kisses while Alfie squirmed between them, wanting his mother’s kisses for himself. To appease him, they both planted a big, wet kiss on his cheeks, which had him giggling up another storm.

Shiro didn’t think there was any more room in him to be happy. A lot of his fears regarding fatherhood still lingered, like how Alfie’s friends would react to his prosthetic arm when he was older, and if Alfie would mind all his scars, and things like that. But Alfie never seemed to notice the difference between his arms, and after catching Allura tracing the scar across his nose a dozen times, he’d started doing it himself, too.

A lot of things had changed in the last few years. His nightmares became peaceful dreams about his family and his family had grown to include the McClains and Gundersons and Koganes and Holts and his own little family of Shiroganes was warmer and fuller than ever. He had a job that he loved and a home where his heart truly lived. He had a wife of whom he loved with all his being and a baby who lit up every dark corner of his world.

What more could he ever need? 

When he thought about it, a lot had changed with him, too. It wasn’t just that he had become a husband, or even that he had become a father, though that certainly had a lot to do with it. When it really came down to it, he felt _healed._ He wasn’t weighed down by his accident or his prosthetics or his nightmares. 

Allura had healed him.

Everything that he was, was because of her. She was the one who gave him a job that taught him how to live again. She was the one who gave him a home where he could be vulnerable and loved and made to feel worthy of that love. She was the one who made him a husband, who made him a father, who gave him his precious baby. 

She was the one who made him realise that he was still capable of loving someone as passionately as he loved her, that even though he wasn’t whole, he could still give his entire heart to someone. She was the one who made him feel worthy of love, that he didn’t have to be anyone other than himself to deserve her willing heart in return.

And oh, how he loved her.

More than anything. 

He tucked his head under her chin and let himself enjoy her warm embrace. “I love you,” he told her again. He made sure to say it any time it crossed his mind, even all these years after they’d met and been married.

She laughed quietly, her palm warm on his back as she ducked to kiss his lips. “I love you too, Takashi.”

Alfie gurgled, one hand pressed to both of their cheeks. Shiro laughed quietly, and kissed Alfie’s nose. “Love you, Alfie.”

“Daddy,” Alfie said, touching Shiro’s face again, “kiss.”

Shiro laughed again, and obligingly kissed Alfie’s nose once more. 

He loved his family, and knew they loved him just as much. Every day was a new beginning. 

There was nothing more that he could ever need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to believe that this story is finally finished. I've been writing it continuously for almost a year, and it's become very ingrained in my routine. It almost feels like I'm saying goodbye to an old friend aha. I really, really appreciate all of the support and comments I received for this story. Writing is my passion, so even though this started as a way to ensure I continued writing every day, I've become very attached to Kindergarten, and I really appreciate the support I've received. I recognise the names of the people who read these chapters daily and always gave me sweet comments. Saying "thank you" doesn't feel like enough to express how thankful I really am for your support!
> 
> So thank you for sticking around for all these chapters. I really hope you enjoy this last one ❤
> 
> I hadn't originally planned to write a chapter like this. I have tentative plans to write another part to this story that's set sometime in the future, with older Lance/Keith/Hunk/Pidge and Shallura children. A lot of people wanted to see the kids grown up, and to see Shiro and Allura have kids of their own, so I decided to include it in this chapter. But I want to write more, perhaps when the kids are in high school and Shiro and Allura's children are going to kindergarten. I actually write a small series with Alfie ([which you can read here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12282339/chapters/27917949)) that I used for inspiration for this chapter! I also wrote a small one-shot where Allura tells Shiro she's pregnant ([here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12236109)) that I feel could also work for this universe. If there's interest, I might combine the two into something that's definitely set in the Kindergarten world? I also want to write more future scenes with the kids... if there's interest haha.
> 
> Either way, I don't feel like this is the end for these characters or this universe. It's just the beginning ❤


End file.
